When I was a teenager, I made a needlepoint pillow from a kit. My mom kept it while I was away at college, but after that she cleaned house and gave it back to me. Although I expected that I would find a nice place to put it someday, it never seemed to match anything in my house quite right. So it ended up sitting at the back of my closet for over 25 years, even after I moved from one house to another.
I thought of it as something I should keep because of all the time and effort I had put into making it. But this week when I considered it, I realized that no matter how I might decorate my house in the future, I still wouldn’t want to display the pillow because it’s so full of stagnant energy. It doesn’t fit the person I am now—I haven’t done any needlepoint in ages! Even if I bought something new and the pillow matched, it wouldn’t feel like a cherished possession, but would remind me of old stuff sitting around in the closet. So it’s just got to go!
About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!
Hey Meg,
Thank you so much for sharing this with me! I’m SO glad you did. Bravo for letting the pillow move on, I can totally understand not wanting to let that go between the effort you put in, the sentiment, the childhood memories – yikes! Heavy, man! 😉
I am so digging the clutter comedy Sunday, haha that’s so fun! And you know what’s wild? This morning I was asking the Universe to awaken me to some serious joy in life to kick off the year – and she delivered me your comedy! Love it.
Have an awesome Sunday, my good friend, cheers to moving ONWARD!
Allison
Have a great Sunday too, Allison, and thanks so much for this lovely comment — so glad you’re enjoying the clutter comedy posts! 😀
Love it! Yes, anytime I have to part with something from the days of yore, I try really hard to remind myself of the philosophy that letting go of the old and stagnant creates room for the new and fresh in my life. I first learned about this concept from Julie Morgenstern’s book Organizing from the Inside Out and it completely changed how I view old stuff. Hold on to a very, very few truly sentimental items, but know how to separate the trash from the actual treasures. Congratulations on releasing that old energy! It will be interesting to see what new it lets in 🙂
Thanks Annie! After I took the pillow to the thrift store, I went shopping at Kohl’s and found just what I was looking for — a nice pair of purple gloves, and two belts (I threw away three old, frayed belts). So, I would say there’s at least a little bit of fresh new energy coming in! 🙂