It’s May 1 and I’ve decided to play a little game. Inspired by the guys at The Minimalists, I’m going to see how much stuff I can remove from my life by playing the Minimalism Game.
It’s pretty simple. You start on the first day of the month getting rid of one thing. Day two, you get rid of two things, and so on.
I’m enhancing the game slightly by photographing the things and reflecting on why I held on to them in the first place. This is to get to the “why” behind the stuff instead of just gritting my teeth and cleaning like a good Virgo. Discovering the “why” behind the stuff that I’ve hung on to longer than I should may help me stop doing it again in the future. At least, that’s the hope.
Today’s entry, a florist’s vase. Everyone’s got a store of these it seems, collecting dust on top of the fridge or underneath the sink. There should be a place to recycle these, like dry cleaners hangers or glass bottles.
Getting flowers is a wonderful treat. This particular vase came as part of a thank you bouquet that I enjoyed for weeks. I enjoyed the visit, I appreciated the thank you gift, but I felt bad about getting rid of the vase. It still has utility, after all. And the purple is fun.
But the reality is that I have plenty of vases, vases that are much easier to arrange flowers in and whose color won’t compete with the flowers themselves. Getting rid of the vase won’t invalidate the wonderful thought that brought it into my house. (Even if it kind of feels that way.)
So I’ll keep the memory. But the vase? It’s history.
Love this idea; I’m big into cleaning stuff out at least twice a year. Still, I hold into thing for “what” reason? Looking at the why is a great way to make a real change and let go of the physical and emotional baggage.
I agree – especially when I find the same type of thing accumulating in my life. Why is that so hard to let go of while other things are a breeze? Come along on the journey!