I have loved all of the changes that I am making in my life. I am still sorting through my clothes. I had come across this one shirt that I haven’t worn in probably 15 years. It’s a cool shirt, but I haven’t worn it in awhile, and I have other clothes that I like so much more.
Digital Declutter: I uninstalled another app on my phone that I no longer use. It is an amazing feeling of letting all of the weight go of things I no longer use.
I am starting to feel the joy with slowly getting rid of things that no longer add any joy in my life. It is very freeing.
Although one of the saddest realization is that these items used to be money, and I spent on things that I thought would make me happy. But now that I am getting rid of them, I realized that in the end I wasn’t happy with that purchase. These things could have bought me a weekend getaway with my boyfriend. I learned that we don’t just spend things with money, but the hours of our lives. Before I buy something, I ask myself is this item really worth an x number of hours of life? If not, I don’t buy it. If it is, I ponder it over. I must not make any impulsive decisions about my spending habits.
Now that I am slowly removing the things that no longer sparks joy for me. I am starting to realize that I never want to go shopping for new clothes, at least not for a long time. I am happy just owning things that make me happy. I don’t have chase the “next best thing”. I don’t mind that I don’t have the latest phone, or the latest purse, or shoes, or anything else. I am happy with my “old and boring” brands of things.
I am starting to be more happy with everything I own. It helps me keep my house clean. Learning to be less, makes things less stressful, and easier to clean.
If you are starting your journey, feel free to share your journey in the comments below.
Today’s item is a poncho. I had thought that maybe one day I would wear this. but nope, never have.
So, perhaps someone will get more joy out of this item than I did.
“As soon as you honour the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease.”
-Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle is a famous a spiritual teacher. He also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He has published several books discussing on life changing it is to stay present. In fact his The Power of Now is featured in the Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club. But I started reading this book as a recommendation from one of my friends, that was reading this book.
What I love about this quote is how freeing it is. Whenever we spend time looking back in the past, or stressing out about the future, we are allowing ourselves to let the past or our future imprison us from the now. Eckhart Tolle reminds us is to remain in the now, and to not let anything disturb us from this present moment. When you finally decide to let go everything that holds you back, you will realize that all you really need is to be present.
Buddha’s definition of enlightenment, is the end of suffering. Once we begin to focus on the now, that is when you can finally free yourself. That is when we truly feel at peace, and happiness can finally blossom.
I like to think I have been doing a good job going through my stuff. It has been challenging, but I like to say I have made good process.
I want to make sure that everything I have is something that actually sparks joy in my life.
So, I was quite surprised that I have kept this pen that is broken at the end, so it makes it difficult to write with. Without hesitation, I had thrown it away.
I love doing this challenge. I find it really freeing and it’s allowing me to ease in to the whole decluttering mission at a steady pace. I have tried to declutter so many times before, but I felt like I was getting stuck and couldn’t overcome the emotional attachment of things, like clothes. I still have a ton of clothes from years ago, so some of these clothes are too hard to let go.
So that’s where I came up with this whole idea of one item a day, which has been helping me. Like a lot. Because I can discard things slowly and really appreciate the transformation.
Like this shirt was a bit of a challenge to get rid of because I remember wearing it the first time I hung out with one of my friends. What made it difficult was that we don’t really hang out or talk much, we live in different cities now.
Even though this shirt feels a bit snug on me, it was still challenging to get rid of by donating it to someone else. And that’s okay, because than it means that someone else can find just as much joy as I did. And that is what makes this journey so joyous, because you’re getting rid of things so someone can enjoy these things, too. When you own less things that’s whenyou can truly appreciate what you have.
3yellowdaisies 
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