This is day 21 of a 30 day New Year’s Resolution.
I leave stickers on my laptops. You know, those “Intel Inside” stickers, or “HP: Faster Chrome. Bigger Screen.” Some part of me feels like – as long as it still has the sticker on, it’s still new.
Also: tags. I’ll have a shirt for three weeks before I cut the tag off. I might even wear it a few times.
You probably don’t share this exact pathology, but maybe you can relate: indecision (women call this “fear of commitment”) keeps us holding on to the past.
For me, it’s tags. For you, well, maybe you wear the same clothes you wore in college. Maybe you still party like you’re in college. Maybe you hold on to souvenirs from trips. Trips you took as an adult. Family trips from when you were a kid. Maybe you still have that box of shells. A shoebox full of birthday cards.
Your retainer, which you haven’t worn since you were 16.
A while back, I wrote a post on 15 Things to Throw Out, Now.
All over the Bay Area, I could hear the sound of duffle-bag zippers as people schlepped their “seemed like a good idea at the time” clothes, shoes, and hats to Salvation Army.
Now, the holidays have passed, and you’ve been gifted all sorts of goodies. Your closet and shelves are overloaded. The stuff on hangers is bunched together, and drawers won’t close.
It’s time for another clean-out.
Don’t throw that stuff out because you need more space – even though you do.
Don’t throw it out because you don’t wear it – even though you don’t (or shouldn’t, anyhow).
Throw it out because it’s part of curating who you are. You know, like the curator of a museum who decides that some of the old collection has got to go. To keep the museum current. Relevant. Alive.
To curate is to grow.
Throw it out.