Making way for a new way of life

I am sooo proud of my DH today, cannot tell you. After years of decluttering and sorting stuff, reusing it and recycling things. After months of seeing me go through cupboards, books, videos, clothes, and other stuff the question came :

Do you think you could give me a hand decluttering my cupboard?

I did not ponder for long. We sorted, shredded, reminded ourselves why we had kept this stuff and worked together as a team. End result, tired but happy.

The reason it is so important to declutter is because we have no idea what we have accumulated over the years. We moved from one house to another because the house was too small, not for us we now know, but for the stuff we moved with us.

It reminded me of the story of the young monk who is invited to have tea with an elder. They talk and the old man is pouring tea in the cup until it overflows. the young monk asks him why he continues to fill the cup when it is obvious that it is overflowing. Ah, says the older monk, I am glad you have noticed, to make room for anything in your life, you need to have room in your cup.

So it is with our clutter. My Dh and I had a dream some years ago. As I said in the story yesterday, I certainly got to a point where my bowl was covered in algae and I could not see the clear picture.

What has helped me is decluttering the house, how we use our time. Spending time together looking at the clutter we have in our lives, provides an opportunity to talk about our dream, what we would like to see in it, and a lot of searching and enjoying eachother's company, a picture is emerging. Its a personal picture and it my not be yours. We can ask ourselves the questions, what would we like to happen, followed by : Can we do that? When you ask those questions, and talk it through you have an opportunity to face what it is you really want and how you can make that happen. At that moment we realised that the size of our house is no longer important, but the time we have together and how we spend it together is.
To you, reader it may sound like utopia, and I don't blame you if you cannot see as clear we do now, don't beat yourself up about it a minute longer, all it takes is a small step. Do not stop dreaming.

On a practical note, I emptied the freezer yesterday. It will be switched off for at least 2 months before the harvest comes in again. That would have been impossible a few years ago. It will save energy, it gets a rest and I can start afresh when the garden produce rolls in. I am still working on canning more of the produce and not rely on the large shop freezer size. I needed it years ago because I bought convenience foods and it took up an awful lot of room. Buying fresh produce locally takes away the need for that too.
Right, I am off in search of some local asparagus!