My parents moved suddenly 8 or 9 years ago while I was in China. One of my goals for this summer was to find and finally finish going through all of the things that had been packed up and stored while I was away.
Finding boxes of things that haven’t been touched in nearly 10 years, full of things from my years growing up or my years in high school and college is a bit like finding a time capsule. I enjoy re-visiting the person that I was back then and seeing the things that were important to me.
Getting rid of things is a lot easier when I’m getting rid of boxes in storage rather than throwing things away when those things have a place in a room. But throwing these time capsules away is still a bit of a challenge. For example, I opened my childhood jewelry box. My sister and I had complimentary ones. Hers had cute little bears on it, and mine had ballerinas on the outside. On the inside, a ballerina spun around when I wound her up. A simple tune played while I looked through the jewelry. Minnie mouse earrings. Necklaces made of wound thread that someone had made me. A golden locket. A cross with a stone. A stick figure with the dress made of a ruby. I kept some of the golden necklaces that I liked and thought I would wear, but I decided most of the plastic necklaces or disintegrated chains weren’t worth keeping. And I know I should get rid of it, but removing that time capsule gives me a bittersweet feeling.
We will never return to the people we were in the past, but seeing these mementos takes me back in a way that I hadn’t expected. I usually take pictures of meaningful things before getting rid of them, but I know that I won’t interact with a picture in the same way.
So how can I get rid of these things that feel so much a part of me? I think the first thing that helps a lot is knowing that I haven’t seen or thought about these things in nearly 10 years. I tend to keep the things that I have thought about, like the scrapbook I made of our family history—that one is worth keeping! But I figure if I have managed to live and do the things that I need to do for all these years without these things, I can probably manage without them.
I have also found lots and lots of books. I got rid of lots of the books I had collected several years ago, and the ones that I have left are sometimes harder to part with. I had several Nancy Drew books. I loved Nancy Drew when I was in elementary/middle school. One summer, I read around 40 books in the original series. At the time, I borrowed them from the library, but later, I found the books at a library book sale or garage sale and bought them so that I could give them to my kids someday. But I don’t have kids. I finally decided perhaps it’s time to give these to someone who would enjoy them more. Last time, I donated the books, but this time, I realized that my friends have kids who would probably enjoy the books. I loaded them up in my car, and when I went to see my friend and her kids, I opened up the box and told them to take as many as they wanted. Seeing the kids’ excitement made it so easy to part with these books. I had even thrown in some old piano books that I played through when I was a kid.
“My daughter loves playing the piano,” my friend said as we listened to the muted sounds of the piano coming from upstairs after the kids had gone through the books.
I held on to so many things for so long, hoping that I could use them, but I’m so glad I finally surrendered these things to give someone else the chance to enjoy them. Those things weren’t blessing anyone in my parents’ closet, but now they are blessing someone I love. I want to hold loosely to the things that God has given me and use those things to bless others rather than clinging so tightly to things that I will never be able to hold on to.
One of the things that I do tend to keep are my journals. I have been reading and writing about the Bible for most of my life, and I often write prayers also. Looking back and seeing the things that troubled me as a child are encouraging. Even though I may struggle with some of the same things, I don’t struggle with them in the same way because God has grown me and taught me so much. But sometimes, I also read things, and I’m amazed that someone so young could have such a deep grasp of God and a close relationship with him. I also enjoy reading about someone who had so much wonder for the beauty of this world. I liked writing about the beauty of nature. It’s a good reminder for me to make sure that I’m still close to God now. I have changed, but He hasn’t, and I want to grow closer to Him rather than getting distracted by all the cares of this world. I do have more cares now than I did when I was 10, but God is still faithful to lead and guide and comfort me.
I have gotten rid of many things, but I’m thankful that I have also found things in these boxes that are worth keeping. I’m thankful to see glimpses of the little Alison and how I have grown into the Alison that I am today. How often do you declutter, and what are some strategies that you use?