Friday, October 3, 2014

31 Days of Letting Stuff Go - Day 3




Update: If you happened to check for this morning's post earlier than 10:30am CT, I apologize for the lack of a new post.  I thought I had it scheduled properly, but I must not have hit publish again after updating it for the last time.  #newbie  Thanks for reading!

It's Day 3 of Nester's challenge to write for 31 days on one topic, and I am still letting stuff go!  #write31days #lettingstuffgo

Yesterday, I let go of candy molds I owned for ten years.  Geez Louise, when I write it like that, I wonder why in the world I waited that long to donate them.

I know why.  It's because I pause after deciding to get rid of an item, and go, "Well, I could make...." or "I could find someone who...." or  "What if I want to.....later?"  Doubt creeps in.  Plus, there is this nagging sense that I am losing part of my identity or something:  I really want to be someone who knits.  (But I am not.)  Or I really want to be someone who makes chocolates for holiday parties.  (I am not anymore.)  Or I want to be the person who makes that craft. (Sometimes, I am that person, and it is fun!)

Don't get me wrong.  I do like to do some creative things.  I used to think I wanted to make all my greeting cards.  I enjoyed it here and there.  I still might make more someday, but I won't keep a lot of supplies for it around.

Turns out it's the same story for my dear husband's soap making supplies:



Unopened.

He is an artist and has dabbled in a lot of mediums, but he was ready to let this box go.  We didn't let it go for a long time, and I respected his choice to keep it.  Heck, there were even times I thought we might make some soap in the future.  He agreed to letting this box go fairly readily.  I just realized the box was sealed from the move to this house.....9 years ago.  9 years ago.   Pretty sure about that one.


Why I have two cake covers is beyond me.

So, that was too easy.  I sensed it when I scanned the shelves for today's purge; this wasn't tough enough.  Then, I looked more closely at these shelves:


What's going to go?  No, not the Apple boxes.  Yet. :)


I found what I was looking for on the top shelf:






Here they are out of the boxes:





Lovely items.  We even registered for the cross on our wedding registry - yikes!  However, we would not go into a store and select the same cross today.  How little I knew myself then.  

I love tulips and have used this vase more than once, but it's time for it to go, too.  I cannot keep heavy glass items out, and I will not be able to for some time due to young children.  Safety first.  

I just made the mistake of looking up the cross on eBay to see what it was going for: around $40.  Now, I am feeling that familiar feeling of donation uncertainty, despite my deep dislike for the whole rigamarole of selling things online.  

But, wait, you say!  What about local garage-sale Facebook groups?  

Yeah, I could test the sale waters there.  

But you know what?  This was a gift.  It feels really distasteful to sell something that was given to me.  Pay it forward.  Let it go.  Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.

Verdict: all of the above to the church charity shop (Relief.)  When something's going to go, it needs to go now.  Not wait in a holding pattern for a drop off or a post office trip.  Who's got time for that?  Wait, I could put the money from the sale into a special fund for my kids' homeschool books or special trip.  No...no, still distasteful.  Just let it go.

Man, that one crept up on me! 

Did you have a tough time letting go of anything lately?  How do you feel about my decision not to try and sell the more expensive items?




2 comments:

  1. AH! Gifts are the hardest but I love looking at it as passing it forward vs. taking the time and effort to sell it. Good job, Mama :)

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  2. Gifts are hard. Thanks for the encouragement!! And for stopping by. :-)

    ReplyDelete