Letting go of stuff

I have a terrible time letting go of stuff. And it's really starting to bug me.

The closet in our guest room, where I stash the stuff I don't know what to do with, is busting at the seams. So is the hall closet, and my closet, and the dresser, and my nightstand. And then there's the 48' storage unit we have in Richmond.

I just can't seem to let go of this junk. I get really attached to things for some reason and it's really annoying. I want to live in a clutter-free home. I don't want to feel guilty for giving things away that I don't use anymore. And I want to enjoy things given to me - and not feel like I need to save them.

The other day I found a three-pack of gourmet mustard in the pantry. I had received it as a gift and was saving it. I finally pulled it out to open it up - and it had expired back in January! What is wrong with me? Why was I waiting for the absolute perfect moment to eat mustard?

Last week we got a gift of gourmet olive oil from Sterling Vineyards. Don immediately opened it up and poured some to eat with some crusty bread. My first reaction was GASP! he opened the olive oil. What is he doing? Then I realized that this conversation in my head is unhealthy and duh, the olive oil was given to us to be eaten. Let's not have another mustard incident. So I ate some too, and it was delish.

Lucky for me Elli doesn't have this issue. In fact, I find myself getting my feelings hurt when she so casually says I can throw away the stuffed animals I picked out for her long before she was born. She doesn't connect herself to things (except her blankies) and she lives a much healthier life.

Elli is at work with me today. I gave her a pack of stickers to play with. She immediately ripped open the package and stuck every sticker on a picture she was working on. Right on! I would never have done that myself.  I would have saved those stickers until I was too old to have fun with them. I can learn a lot from her.

See this picture here? It's a stash of stuff under my desk. I moved offices recently and wanted to unload my junk drawer. Well I did. Right into this box. And here it sits. I think I'll toss this stuff today. Elli's with me. She'll help me through it. Plus, I can see right now that the brown box is garbage! Oh my gosh, I'm turning into my grandmother. Holy schnikes.

I know it's all mental. But I'm finally ready to let things go. It's cluttering my mind and stressing me out. I don't want to become that woman (like my grandmother) that collects paper towel tubes and newspapers because I can't throw anything away. My parents have a garage full of stuff, too. Most of it from my grandmother's house. It's in my genes.

Is it just me? Am I the only one with this issue? How do you purge your things? If you have a garage sale in Connecticut watch out for gypsies. They'll rob you blind. Seriously, they will.