Having a Hard Time Making a Decision on Something Sentimental?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 7:33PM | Barbara Berman 
When you are digging through storage containers, drawers, shelves, etc, you are bound to find items that you no longer need, don’t necessarily want, but can’t give away because they bring back good memories. (Hopefully, if the memories aren’t good, you can give the items away.) It’s hard to make the decision to keep or not to keep the item because of the emotions attached to it.
I have a client who used to have long hair about 25 years ago, and she collected all different kinds of scrunchies. For those of us who had long hair back then but don’t now, we can vividly remember all the things we used to pull our hair back. While cleaning out a box in her garage, we found a bag of about 40 of these scrunchies.
Of course, we talked about that time in her life. I honestly was not sure what my client was going to do with them. I was really hoping she would only keep one or two just for posterity. But, we had a little ceremony, and she was able to discard all of them. We knew we couldn’t donate them, and we weren’t sure how they could be reused (several of them had lost their elasticity). The little saying for the ceremony went something like this:
They were good scrunchies.
They were worthy scrunchies.
Amen.
We laughed, had fun, and were able to move on with de-cluttering and organizing project for that day. So, if you are having difficulty letting go, maybe a little ceremony will help. Just think, you can be creative, make up your own little saying, have fun, and laugh as well. Try it. It certainly can’t hurt.
BB’s Clutter Solutions is located in Cherry Hill, NJ and serves New Jersey (north and south), Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs, and New York City. Contact information: www.bb-clutter-solutions.com, info@bb-clutter-solutions.com, 856-912-0077.
Reader Comments (4)
This is a perfect example of understanding this isn't just about getting rid of nolonger used posessions, it is about working with the person as a whole, and supporting him or her as they struggle with the emotional impact of parting with their past. Well done.
And a great suggestion for us others who are attempting to do this on our own.
Debbie, thanks for this. I just learned in a training class I took this weekend (Julie Morgenstern Enterprises) that it is not about the stuff. It's about the person.
What a fun suggestion. I love the idea of making a "ceremony" out of getting rid of something I've held onto for too long. It kind of makes it OK to pass it on. You are brilliant, Barbara, to make something uncomfortable into a fun activity.
I love all your ideas but this one was one of the best !!
What a great idea! It made me smile and think about all the things I might now be able to toss - after a ceremony! :)