40 Bags in 40 Days: Day 23
Sorry that I missed a few days. But I am trying to remember to not feel guilty about that. That was one of the stipulations of 40 Bags in 40 Days. You don't feel guilty about missing days. Anyhow, I've been either busy or drop-dead tired. If those are excuses. Also, I've been dreading this clean up. The right-hand shelf of my desk. Part of it was because I have been doing so well at getting rid of things I don't need, that looking at a place where it looked so cluttered, but I couldn't really see anything that I didn't want/need, was a bit discouraging.
Then I had to reframe. Because I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff that I don't want or need, and I don't regret any of it--I LOVE the feeling. But, on the other hand, my apartment is not bursting at the seams. No one is about to call Hoarders on me. And there is nothing wrong with having an emotional attachment to objects--it's all about balance. So, if I want to keep my medical lab textbooks from college, then I will! And not only do those have an emotional place in my heart, but they have a practical purpose too--I'm a medical scientist! And if I want to keep copies of some books in French, I can. I do speak French after all! If I want to keep a book of Russian fairy tales, still looking for the day when I can not just pronounce them but also understand them, there's nothing wrong with having a physical representation of a goal or dream (plus the illustrations are amazing). That's not to say that I didn't get rid of anything. Scribbled sheets of paper with agendas for staff meetings at camp two years ago don't need to stay in my life. And I don't need TWO copies of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
But you don't need to even have a practical reason. I stewed over my baby name books for a long time. I have always been fascinated by baby names, and as a young girl, I would read baby name books. No joke. Well, with the internet, who needs baby name books? So, I sat there for probably ten minutes trying to convince myself that I didn't need baby name books. So why was I keeping those tattered baby name books? That's when it dawned on me: Because they were my TATTERED baby name books. As a young girl, I would look up the meanings of names, origins of names. I would pick out names for my children, come up with entire fictional families just because I thought that the names sounded good together (even if I would never use them for my own children), and just read baby name books. I wasn't keeping those baby name books for a practical reason. I was keeping them because they were a remnant of my childhood. They were an echo of a very nerdy and easily entranced little girl that still lives inside of me. And thus, I kept the baby name books. And that's okay.
So, my right hand shelf is less cluttered. But it still has things on it.
Before:
After:
Join me tomorrow when I clean off my computer desktop.
Then I had to reframe. Because I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff that I don't want or need, and I don't regret any of it--I LOVE the feeling. But, on the other hand, my apartment is not bursting at the seams. No one is about to call Hoarders on me. And there is nothing wrong with having an emotional attachment to objects--it's all about balance. So, if I want to keep my medical lab textbooks from college, then I will! And not only do those have an emotional place in my heart, but they have a practical purpose too--I'm a medical scientist! And if I want to keep copies of some books in French, I can. I do speak French after all! If I want to keep a book of Russian fairy tales, still looking for the day when I can not just pronounce them but also understand them, there's nothing wrong with having a physical representation of a goal or dream (plus the illustrations are amazing). That's not to say that I didn't get rid of anything. Scribbled sheets of paper with agendas for staff meetings at camp two years ago don't need to stay in my life. And I don't need TWO copies of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
But you don't need to even have a practical reason. I stewed over my baby name books for a long time. I have always been fascinated by baby names, and as a young girl, I would read baby name books. No joke. Well, with the internet, who needs baby name books? So, I sat there for probably ten minutes trying to convince myself that I didn't need baby name books. So why was I keeping those tattered baby name books? That's when it dawned on me: Because they were my TATTERED baby name books. As a young girl, I would look up the meanings of names, origins of names. I would pick out names for my children, come up with entire fictional families just because I thought that the names sounded good together (even if I would never use them for my own children), and just read baby name books. I wasn't keeping those baby name books for a practical reason. I was keeping them because they were a remnant of my childhood. They were an echo of a very nerdy and easily entranced little girl that still lives inside of me. And thus, I kept the baby name books. And that's okay.
So, my right hand shelf is less cluttered. But it still has things on it.
Before:
After:
Join me tomorrow when I clean off my computer desktop.
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