Let It Go

A new customer came in today and asked all about us. They have the leftovers from no less than four relatives scattered about the house, some collections, mostly just”stuff” according to the customer. They admit there is a sentimental charged atmosphere to the surroundings, and they want to get it lessened. One of the hardest parts of de-cluttering, cleaning, and organizing a house whether it is yours or mom’s, dad’s etc. is letting go. The first best thing is tossing the unwanted and unusable things. I know after living in my mom’s house almost twenty years everything I saw had some memory or sense attached. Only my long experience of how to get through a room swiftly and efficiently to clean it help me get those things out the door with less emotional trauma than most. Throwing away items is probably the hardest part for most people, although sometimes folks make a mistake or two and toss something with value, but that is the exception, not the rule. The best first step is that very liberating act of simply bagging the garbage, seeing how much room it gets you, and then you can play with the goodies. Then of course, the sentiment kicks in. The worn school book from first grade, the small blanket with the frayed edge, the plastic cup you had your Ovaltine in when you were five years old. All stuff to just let go of. There is no store in the world where they sell sentiment. The good thing about all this is the very good feeling you get when that room is nearly bare, you can see decorating possibilities, and even feel the rug on your toes like when you were a kid. All this letting go applies equally to cars, houses themselves, and any other thing. People are another matter. Hang on to the ones you care about and let them know they matter, because losing them in any way is traumatic, and rightfully so. People are too unique and special to let go of too easily, and the ones who stay with us longer more so each minute.

The same thing can also be said of letting go of self-damaging emotional baggage. Carrying some old negative memory, a hurt long past and probably forgiven, or a nagging regret solves nothing. Forgiving the perpetrator, like hugging the errant child, works wonders in both directions. it can do nothing but heal. If we carry all the bad it will drag us to the ground, if we let it go, we can fly with loved ones at our side. Those who hurt probably didn’t want to, they made a mistake. Mistakes aren’t willful, they are proof we are human, and none of us are safe from making them forever, sooner or later even you will make one.  Hopefully the nice person next to you will let it go.