Declutter Gifts and Heirlooms
Recently a Feng Shui client asked me what to do with several things she had inherited from her father that didn’t fit into her home. They took up her limited space and didn’t really fit in with her taste and décor. She needed help to declutter gifts and heirlooms.
What do you do with well-intentioned gifts and family treasures that clutter your space and your life?
“Clutter,” as Karen Kingston writes in Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, “is something that is not genuinely useful or truly loved.” It could be the ump-teenth dolphin knick-knack you received long after you out-grew your infatuation with dolphins. Or your great uncle’s umbrella stand – but you never knew your great uncle. Feng Shui tells us that clutter blocks chi-energy. If you are feeling stuck in your life, it could be due to clutter in your home or office.
There are three ways to approach this dilemma:
Let go of those thing that do not enhance your life, functionally or emotionally, while you hold on to the love and warm feelings with which the gift was given.
- Donate to charity – get a receipt for taxes
- Sell through a consignment shop – get it out of your house and make a little money
- Or, if it is beyond repair or useful function – toss it.
If these items are hard to let go, take photos of the items and create a memory book, either a scrap book or an online photo album. And then donate, sell or toss.
If it is something you have inherited and these things have meaning for your extended family, perhaps they would be treasured by another family member. Ask them if there is anything they would like to have. Then give them thirty (30) days to pick it up or arrange to have it shipped to their own home. If not claimed within that time period – then give it to a charity or toss it.
These may seem like harsh words, but I am sure the people who gave you these gifts or family treasures did not intent for them to clutter your life. Think of the larger circle of giving and receiving. What is your clutter may be someone else’s treasure. Trust that the universe will find the right home for these things.
Need help to re-vision your home without clutter and in harmony with your lifestyle? Contact me, today.
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