Home and Horror Series, Part 4: Purge!

Something ENERGIZING happened to me on Friday! And the advice I’m about to give is contrary to the way most people live.

I’m not ever trying to offend anyone when I write. I live. I share. I tell what works for me. So, I won’t be bothered if you don’t agree with this thought:

When in doubt, toss it out!

Yes, really.

This home and horror series has been all about things around my home that have been a little scary and pretty great. It wouldn’t be fair to go through the series without talking about one of the things that keep me and our home life intact: PURGING.

I’m not talking about the trends in minimalism or KonMari—the life-changing tidying up method by guru Marie Kondo. I’ve had my own version of KonMari for most of my life. I feel like junk weighs me down. Aren’t we all busy enough that we don’t need more things to clean or maintain?

If I don’t need or use something anymore, I get rid of it. Now, of course I’m not talking about important papers or kindergarten masterpieces from my girls. But you know the stuff–the clothes that don’t fit anymore. The broken things that won’t ever get repaired. You know.

This week, we are still fighting our battle with water. And since I can’t do much to change that right now, I took to the attic to prep my “Goodwill box.” This is the box that stays in our attic and I fill it up year-round.

Then, I make a really, huge trip and PURGE. I’ve been overdue with the trip, so things were spilling out everywhere and there was furniture and toys that simply had to get outta my house!

I know. This is too simple. Who gets excited about getting rid of stuff? Me, and a whole lot of other people. While I am not a KonMari follower, 8 million people who bought her book aren’t following her advice for nothing.

There’s something in her simplicity of ridding our lives of clutter. I trust her simple principle: keep only what “sparks joy”.

There’s enough bad and crazy going on in the world. So, when I’m home, I want to look around and find things that bring me comfort and “spark joy”. The other part of the purge is that I’m donating good stuff so it’s always something that I know someone else will be able to use.

With the holidays right around the corner, I picked the perfect time for a purge. Need an energy boost? This one won’t cost you anything other than a quick trip to the thrift store of your choice.

Remember, when in doubt, toss it out.