As I thin out my things and discuss what to do with what is left, I release the expectation that they must be passed down within my family. This openness and acceptance may potentially pave the way for less disputes and resentments in the future.

In addition to asking myself if something was a benefit or a burden for me to keep or if it was superfluous, I also questioned if it enriched my life now. If the answer was no, I ditched it.

We all have a million things vying for our attention. If you tell yourself that you don’t have enough time to clear out your junk, you might be delaying the well-being and relief you could experience by tackling it. If not now, when?

Clutter may rob us of the life we imagined or prevent us from creating a new vision for our future.

I consider minimalism not as a destination but rather as a tool and a mindset to reduce distractions and overwhelm. It is not a competition. You are a winner if you find the amount of stuff and size of your home to be perfect for you and your lifestyle and situation. You only lose if you never consider the potential benefits of decluttering and leave your loved ones with messes and burdens.

My clearing has allowed me to rediscover things I stopped seeing and put them into a place of prominence.