Align

I’m doing a lot of reflecting on my younger self as I’ve been given this awesome opportunity to declutter, help with design, and organize three teenagers’ bedrooms. I had a butterfly phase, I went through a Wicca phase in high school and collected all the witchy things, I hung up posters in my dorm room that “seemed cool” so I’d fit in. I came out and everything in my home had rainbows on it. I was a first-time mom and had an overwhelming amount of toys and books for a newborn infant who slept 23.5 hours a day.

How much of your *stuff* no longer aligns to who you are today? It's OK to let go. You are NOT your stuff.

It’s cool to be able to work with these teens as they’re entering high school and undergoing some big changes…to help make their room a blank canvas to be able to create the space that reflects them and honors who they are individually. When was the last time you saw your closet, naked, empty? Or when you had an entire empty room that you could do whatever you want with it?

It’s also important to consider the version of you that…realistically you are just not, and that’s OK. For some people, that might look like having an elliptical in their bedroom that’s covered in clothes but they can’t get rid of it because they want to be a person who exercises every day at home. Or keeping all of your scrapbooking and craft supplies because even though your kids are older now, you will one day go back and finish (*cough, cough, start) their baby books.

For me it’s currently looking like a really expensive and amazing keyboard I wanted for Christmas—reluctantly, because I was afraid I wouldn’t play it—that’s sitting in the bedroom of my own home because our home is too small for it to go anywhere else. I received this keyboard and instead of taking lessons, practicing, performing for my friends/family, I chose to open a small business and get right to work.

It’s OK to not be the person we, at one point, when we purchased these items, aspired to be, or believed we should be. I have guilt every day when I walk past by piano; I finally told my wife about it and she said it’s OK to let it go (it was a gift from her), and also our child loves to “play” it and often initiates turning it on, climbing onto the bench, and playing for a few minutes by himself. It’s pretty sweet. And the rare times I do sit down to play, I feel happy.

So, it’s OK that I’m not going to be the next big songwriter of my generation or sight read pop hits so my kids and his friends can sing along to Frozen and Encanto on a playdate. I can let go of that perfectionist narrative and simply enjoy the very casual and random jam sessions (if you will).

You have control over your belongings, your spaces, your line-of-sight. To feel safe, at peace, and calm in your home, surround yourself with who/what you love now and what propels you into the best version of yourself. The money has already been spent, the time and energy to care for is long gone, and the only thing keeping you holding on is guilt. Let it go. I can help.