• Purging Material Things…good for the soul…hard to do…a little help.

    October 5, 2009

    Posted in: Uncategorized

    We’ve talked with The Boyd’s a lot lately about the purging process of many of our material things that we’ve been through as we’ve moved to NYC. The process is rather refreshing to the soul, though sometimes it is very difficult to do. Moving into tiny spaces in urban settings like NYC forces a purging of earthly treasures stuff. My friend Liz Lockwood recently tweeted about Noel Piper’s recent purging and a list of lies that keep us from a purging process. Read, identify and enjoy…

    There’s been lots of time to think, digging out of the chaos of the walk-in junk drawer that’s supposed to be my study. (It was worse than the pictures show. They were taken AFTER I started working.)

    As I dig out, I find myself uncovering decades of lying to myself.

    Here’s the list, so far. Originally I was tweeting them one by one. Responses confirm I’m not the only one who tells herself these lies:

    Digging out of chaos–LIE # 1. I paid good money for that. I can’t give/throw it away.

    Digging out of chaos–LIE #2. I got that from my (fill in the blank). I can’t give/throw it away.

    Digging out of chaos–LIE # 3. That thing still works. I can’t give/throw it away.

    Digging out of chaos–LIE #4. It’s so ugly I can’t stand looking at it, but it’s still usable. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–LIE #5. I haven’t used it in 3 years, but I’m sure I’ll need it sometime. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #6. I missed the deadline for product return. But someday I’ll list it on Ebay. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #7. It doesn’t fit, but I’ll surely be be small/large enough next year. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #8. It doesn’t match anything else I wear, but I like the color so much. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #9. My children will value this some day. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #10. It’s still in the original box! This is going to be worth a lot someday. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #11. I’ll find someone who still has the [office machine] that uses that part. I can’t throw/give it away now.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #12. It’s a souvenir from that wonderful trip to [fill in the place]. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #13. I’ll move this to the [attic. garage. basement] till my children need it. I can’t throw/give it away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #14. The perfect organizing system will store everything. I won’t have to throw/give anything away.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #15. I’m the only one who knows what to do with each item of my chaos. No way can anybody help me.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #16. I’m so ashamed of this mess. No way can I let anybody help me.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie #17. So many self-help books. Surely there’s a way to fix my life without shoveling out from under the mess.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 18. Planning the job & wearing work clothes all day is almost as good as actually clearing away the mess.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 19. My living room & dining room are neat, so things aren’t really out of control.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 20. I’ll just sort all this stuff into stacks and then it will be neat.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 21. Nobody else sees my bedroom, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 22. I’m the only one who lives in the midst of mess like this. No way can I let anybody into my house & life.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 23. I’ll never be able to dig out, so I’ll just have to get used to living like this.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 24. It’s just normal that stuff, stuff, stuff. is burying what I’m stuffing inside–and burying me.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 25. There’s nothing I can do about this mess that’s burying me. I’ll never be able to follow my dreams.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 26. The wind has changed. The sky is lowering. Maybe Mary Poppins will drift in, snap her fingers & I’ll be dug out.

    Digging out of chaos–Lie 27. Keep tweeting wisdom about digging out, and I won’t actually have to DO it. NOEL! Back to work!

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