300,000 Items

Recently a dear colleague of mine sent me through an email. It was titled “What makes you happy?”
It’s opening line was the average household has 300,000 items! 300,000, that is an ridiculous number, as I started to think about it I started to count the number of items in the space around me, I counted nearly 150 items in view just while I was sitting at my kitchen table.
Well that was an eye opener! I had already made it a focus of mine to work towards removing all the the things superfluous in my life, our home, and our environment, and here I was with 150 items right in front of me!
Can you possibly imagine the amount of natural resource used to create these items, the tax on our planet, and when purchasing all we look at is the price, or the image it would create. If we were to really look at an items real value taking into account the use of natural resources and cost to the earth, the items value would be a whole lot more. Would we be willing to pay it, did we really want it that much?


Earlier in the year I made a conscious decision to not purchase items unless they fit into a few certain categories

1. Does the item come from a source I could trace - meaning is it fair-trade
2. Does the item contain harmful chemicals, dyes, fabrics, that could lead to health issues
3. Is this item created from natural materials, it is recyclable
4. Could I make it?
5. Is this item good for my health
6. Does this item bring me joy, and is this item enough for me, to love for a long time and worthy of a place in our home

As this is my purchasing guidelines, it is also my guide to letting things go.
I am continuing to remove things everyday, quite slowly, but it did take me a long time to accumulate all of these items, it is understandable it can take some time to remove them from my life. As I remove the item from my life, I try to find it a new home with someone who does need it. 
There was a number of reasons for doing this.

1. After spending such a long time being sick, I found it so hard to clean and to keep on top of home duties. I felt I was constantly drowning, I just needed the house to be clean, easy to tidy, so that when I did have that little bit of energy I could actually do something I enjoyed. However, when you are sick achieving this becomes a little bit of a dream, it is actually quite a strenuous activity.
2. As I have continued to study and learn more and move into a more holistic lifestyle, I began to realise that the items we have inside our homes and in our life can be either positive, negative or neutral. Have you ever had an item where you pick it up, or put it on and it is like all the energy you have is somehow zapped. Or that you suddenly feel sad, frustrated, or you just can’t think clearly, if so, that item needs to go! On the flip side have you ever had an item where you hold it, look at it and your whole spirit picks up, beautiful joy, imagine creating a home filled with positive energy. Ofcourse there will be items that you feel really nothing for, but you still need them... currently…, when you don’t, just let them go. Every single object has the power to either support you and your environment in a positive way, or to bring you down. From personal experience I have to say that this is very much the case, and I am still on the journey of removing unnecessary things from my life. Unfortunately I need to be in one of those enlightened moods to really make a good dent, also it appears I married a hoarder, we will get here, but it most certainly is a long process, but each time it gets easier, and each time you let go of an item you get this funny little piece of joy. The important thing is not to over value items, at the end of the day they are just things, and if you feel that you couldn’t live without them, it’s a good time to stop and realise what it is you really value. It takes some practise but there is nothing more freeing than just letting go. The hardest part is we are bombarded by media constantly, everything that we are taught is that this item will make you happy, this item will make your family happier, images of that perfect family sitting and laughing, happiness? The truth is, no item will ever bring you true happiness, just a moment, a rush, it’s an object. Love and happiness are your soul, it is finding joy in every single day and learning to love your self, and know that you alone are enough.
3. So with the cleansing of my home… now that I am slowly getting there I realise I need to speed things up, why? Because as I cleanse things from my life, it opens up more space in my life to welcome abundance and more amazing opportunities, and these opportunities are incredible, fun, and I don’t want to be wasting time on dusting, cleaning, folding and tidying items that bring me no joy. This does not benefit me, my husband, my dreams and the incredible things I could be spending time doing.

So… take a look around!! Let go, It’s freeing! Melody xx