Mistakes As Clutter

Here is last week’s newsletter. I want to post it here so people can leave comments if they would like.

We all make mistakes. Most of the time we learn from our mistakes and move on. When it comes to clutter “mistakes” sometimes we hold on to the clutter as a constant reminder of the mistake we made. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Think about some of the things we do that we consider mistakes. What if you go out to eat and end up disappointed with it. So what do you do now? You acknowledge your mistake and either don’t go to that restaurant again or make sure not to order that item or a similar one.

What you don’t do is dwell on it every time you drive by the building, nor do you bring home the leftovers and preserve them so you can look at them daily to remind you of wasting money on that dinner. This idea seems way out there but it is exactly what we do to ourselves when we buy a material item ( clothes, books, decorative items, furniture, etc.)

Yesterday my son, who just graduated college, was going through his clothes. He will be heading out to Los Angeles to find a job with computers and visual arts. He came upon a pair of jeans he bought two years ago. The price tags were still on them. He never like the way they fit but his older brother convinced him to buy them.
At first I felt angry for the wasted money spent (my money) then I saw his face. He also felt bad. I realized it was a “mistake” and it was time to let it go. I told him to put the jeans in the give away bag and someone else will get a chance to enjoy them. It was time to let go of the mistake and move forward.

How many “mistakes” to you have hanging in your closet, sitting of a shelf, or staring at you every time you walk into a room? Was it a waste of money? Perhaps. But so was the dinner you didn’t like or you thought you were overcharged for.

So why do we continue to hold onto the material things and constantly punish ourselves for that mistake? I think it has to do with the fact that nobody likes making mistakes and we feel guilty if we make them. We feel like we should be punished for wasting money. We value the money more than we value our own piece of mind.

Those “mistakes” are clutter in your home and mind. Let them go! Stop punishing yourself. The piece of mind and freedom you get with a clean and decluttered home is worth more than any supposedly wasted money.

Let me know what you think about “mistakes as clutter”.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors