Free and Refreshed

I used to be an excellent hoarder. Not quite tv worthy but I had a hard time letting go of "things." I constantly thought "Oh, I'll need that soon!" or "I know I'm going to wear that again!" And both times the answer was NO! I wasn't going to need it and I wasn't going to wear it again. Why do we have such a hard time letting "things" go? Why do we hold onto school things, old clothes, books we'll never read again, decorations we never use, and  so on? Why are we so tied to our "things"?

Probably about five years ago I started giving away more and more of my stuff. When I lived in Fort Wayne I volunteered at a domestic violence shelter for women and their children. I was constantly bringing in stuff to donate. One young girl liked my gray gaucho pants so I gave them to her. Another mother had two children with her and they needed clothes. I wasn't supposed to give specifically to families but I did.....I gave to the children of this mother. Can you imagine being a child or teenager of a mother who was being abused and now you are hiding in a shelter? It's not like they come in with a lot of clothes. Now imagine what it's like to go to school.......kids are mean. My heart went out for the children in this shelter. They needed someone to care about them and love on them.

I found it very freeing to not be attached to my "stuff." I hate feeling bogged down. Have you ever felt stressed by the clutter in your life? I did for sure. But once I cleared that clutter and gave it away, I felt light and refreshed. Does anyone know what I mean? I like to travel and I did it for three years. But I hated all the stuff I needed to take with me. I hated putting my stuff in storage. Do I really need this much "stuff"???

Back in the day I was an excellent shopper, just like I was an excellent hoarder. In college when I lived on my own I bought way too much stuff and today I probably don't have a quarter of it. I was ridiculous. I'm finally learning. My husband and I moved last March from Florida to Ohio and we got our own place in September. Our life in Florida was seasonal so I never set up "home". However for now Ohio is home but I still can't seem to decorate my home. It's a catch 22 for me. I want my home to feel homey and like home like my parents house felt when I was growing up and still does but.......at the same time I don't see the point of pictures and decorations when there is no need for it necessarily. There is so much need in this world, why should I be buying decorations? I'm in no way implying that you shouldn't decorate your home, this is just something I struggle with. I don't expect others to think this way. I know decorating your home isn't evil or bad but at what point is enough? At what point are you going overboard? At what point is materialism taking over?

Is anyone else a hoarder? Use to be hoarder? Or what about a clutter-free gal now? Does giving free you and refresh you? Can anyone live with necessities only?