How Did THAT Happen?

I have a spot by my kitchen door where I put stuff that’s going to the garage. It might be recyclables, or coupons I want to keep in my car. Or the shopping bags I take with me. Most of the time there might be one or two things in that spot. The bags I just unloaded the groceries from. A few plastic containers to be recycled. But not this day. I went downstairs into the kitchen and saw this.

(c) Kathleen Thompson

And asked myself, “How did THAT happen?”
Now we all know how it happened. I don’t think it was little elves. It was me, using things until they were empty, and then somehow not making the time to take them to the recycle bin in the garage. Maybe I was always carrying other stuff to the garage. Who knows. All I know is that the pile was completely out of control.

And it took 2 trips to carry everything out.

This stuff happens, doesn’t it? We get busy. Or it’s not the highest priority. And then we get used to seeing the pile there. Until one day it’s a bit out of control. And takes longer to clean it up than if we had taken care of it all along.

For me there was always something else that seemed more pressing. And once the pile got big enough, I knew I couldn’t carry it with anything else. I had to make a special trip. Like that was a big deal! It’s maybe 10 steps and 2 doors to the recycling bin.

Sometimes we tell ourselves a story. That story grows bigger and more powerful until it has power over us. Now we have a weight we’re carrying around. Or a pile of stuff meant to be recycled. And yet, rather than recycle it, we let it accumulate until the pile’s huge.

It’s time to clean out. Anything that doesn’t belong on your kitchen table. The spot where you keep the mail. Wherever you tend to accumulate stuff. It might be physical stuff, like plastic containers. Or it might be emotional stuff. Either way, it’s time to clean out.

It’s Spring. When we notice new life all around us. Why not use this spring to lighten the load? I just took my pile to the garage, and feel lighter already. I’ll eventually take it to the recycling center. I’ll walk the bag over to the chute, and watch all that plastic and metal slide away from me. And I’ll have more of a spring in my step as I walk back to the car. Lighter again. I’m inviting you to do the same.

If you’ve lightened your load, whether physical or emotional, I’d love you encourage others by sharing in the comments.

It’s spring. Time to lighten up by getting rid of physical and emotional junk.

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Category: Living Well
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4 thoughts on “How Did THAT Happen?”

  1. My challenge Kathleen is with books. I keep accumulating them and they end up all over my study. I need to get someone’s help to reorganise them, because if I try and it I so easily get distracted!

      • Interesting point Kathleen! We have converted our back shed into a library and there are I estimate over a thousand books there. There is also a whole load of other stuff. A few years ago it was reasonably organised, but over time it has gone more chaotic!

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