Put it in the Garage

Ahhh, the garage. It's a great place to store stuff you don't want in your house anymore, but can't bear to give to Goodwill or just completely trash. There's still some emotional connection and you can't quite banish it from your life. On the other hand, you're pretty sure you don't want it in your house anymore. Maybe it's old, doesn't fit your style now, or it's too darn big for the living room. Maybe you're just tired of it.

By putting it out of your day to day sight, maybe you'll come to miss it and want it back? Maybe you'll see it in a new light and find another use for it? Surely you would regret tossing it. So there it sits. Gathering dust. And blocking your path to the work bench, the bicycle, and the ladder. You can't get to the "good" stuff, because of the junk. You look at it and continually ask yourself, "What am I going to do with that?" You have guilt. You feel pressured. You decide not to decide and go back in the house, closing the door behind you.

But eventually, a funny thing starts to happen. It begins to bother you as you maneuver past it. It's taking up too much room. It's dusty. It looks really old and worn out. It doesn't fit in your life anymore. You bang your big toe on it as you squeeze by and that's the moment it looses its power over you. You no longer feel attached to the darn thing, you want it out and you want it out now. You can release it and never look back. It feels good.

The garage serves as a transitional area not only for the physical item, but for your emotional attachment to it as well.  I think we need a garage for old, worn out relationships.  You know, the friendship you once enjoyed but no longer has a place in your life. They've changed, you've changed - whatever the cause. Some distancing is required to see it in its proper light and that distancing allows you to let it go. Feels good to clean out that garage rather than hanging onto relationships that don't work. Getting rid of the clutter in your life allows you to get to and enjoy the "good" stuff.

Happy De-Cluttering!