7 Items, 7 Days, 7 Months - Day 8

 

Remember when you were first starting out and you had nothing?  I remember one time after moving into my first apartment (on my own), went grocery shopping buying all the things I could hear (in my head) my mother telling me I needed.  Came home, put it all away.  Very grown up.

Then I got hungry.

Going into the kitchen, grabbing a can of soup, pulling out a pan, and opening the drawer to where the can opener would have been if I were in my mother's kitchen and NOTHING!  I was in my kitchen and didn't have a can opener to even eat some soup.  Today, a lot of soup cans have pull tabs and this wouldn't have been such an issue.  No such luck.

Today, I have more items than I know what to do with.  How did I accumulate so much stuff?  When did life happen?  I'm still in my planning stages!

DH and I have this philosophy about life and that every now and then we must re-invent ourselves.  Our newest re-invention is to eliminate things from our lives but keep the items that enhance our life.  An example is the elimination of books that we have either read or have been on our "to-read" list for too long.  It's time for someone else to enjoy the books.  Another example is our getting rid of our Calphalon nonstick pans and replacing them with stainless steel copper bottom pans.  We've been reading about the benefits of stainless steel pans with regards to the even heat distribution, lower heat required to cook, the fact that it can also go into the oven.

Plus, as life has shown me, it continues whether I'm ready or not.  We decided (DH more so than me) that we were ready for new pots and pans.  Wait!  There are so many memories that go with those other pans.  It's okay.  The memories will remain but I'm so loving our new pans! {Can't you just see my HUGE toothy grin?!}

With each load that we pack up and remove from our lives is freeing and yet I still have some guilt.  I'm not sure if the guilt is the letting go of an object that has been a part of our lives or decor or if it is the fact that I may not have appreciated it enough.  Take the books mentioned earlier, why did I buy them if I wasn't going to read them?  Wow, looking at it that way, now I really do feel guilty.  It wasn't like I didn't want to read them.

Some things serve their purpose and beg to move on.  The foot pump for tires and other inflatables was screaming at DH to allow it to go elsewhere and actually get used.  Why did we keep the pump after we got rid of the bicycles?  The bicycles went to nice homes.  They actually went off to college.  Isn't that a warm and fuzzy feeling?

There are three, really four, ways to get rid of material objects that are weighing us down.  We can donate, sell, throw away, or recycle.  Recycling is really a great idea.  Recycling encompasses donation, selling, and the ultimate reusing or repurposing.

Today's 7-7-7 Challenge items actually went beyond seven actual items.

1. Non-Stick Pots and Pans with Lids
2. Books
3. Foot Pedal Tire Pump

I'm feeling like I'm supposed to be listing out seven different stacks of items since there aren't actually seven individual items.  Does it count that there are seven piles?

How do you feel since last month's 7-7-7 Challenge?  Were you excited to start again this month?  Were you looking around seeing how your life could be positively affected by the removal of a tangible item?

I've enjoyed walking into my closet much more this past month and can see more items that can be removed.  I've also enjoyed not having to dust some of the nick-knacks that were adorning the shelves and counter tops.

P.S., Please share your thoughts, photos, tips and challenges in the comments below.

Please share me with your friends! Please forward this post to your friends or better yet share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  THANKS!  Your comments and help in spreading the news about this site is ALWAYS appreciated!  Be sure to sign up to receive future articles delivered directly to your inbox.