Stuff and Guilt.

Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard and bears significant responsibility for that violation.[1] It is closely related to the concept of remorse.    ~Wikipedia

What does it feel like to read that?  

How many things do you have in your house right now simply because you would feel guilty if you got rid of them?  2? 5? 100?

When we get rid of things, we're not sending away the memory that the item represents, we're simply sending the physical object on its way.  

We're freeing up physical space.  

We're creating opportunities for energy to flow more freely.

So why is it so hard for us to send things on their way?

Imagine your most prized posession.  Maybe it's in the room with you now.

Now imagine getting rid of it.  

Selling it.  Dropping it off at the thrift store--it doesn't matter where it goes, just that it's out of your life.

What does that feel like?  Does your heart sink as you envision it going out the door?  

Why?

Would you feel like less of a person without it?  Like you'd lose a piece of yourself if it's not in your posession?

Let me ask you this:  Are you the same person when you're on vacation?  When you're out of your 'normal' routine?

Yes?

Then you'd be the same person without that thing.  It's just an object.

I know--how could I speak so poorly about your ____________ {insert name here}...but if you take a step back and look at the item from an outsider's point of view, you can see that it's just that thing.

This is the frame of mind you need to be in when simplifying your stuff: As an outsider seeing items for what they really are--not the strong memories they represent--but the actual physical items themselves.  

I know it's hard.  And sad.  And stressful to make yourself do this.  

But if you truly want freedom from things, it's a necessary evil.

And you can do it.  You have what it takes.

Dig deep and get to work!