Balance from Letting Go of Clutter

It's a delicate balance: that of appreciating beauty and comforts of material things without becoming too attached to them.

Since I am on a budget at the moment, I have felt a pang in letting go of possessions in storage that I have unearthed since I plan on moving to a new apartment by the end of the year if all fares well. It makes absolutely no sense to lug things around that we do not love or use on a regular basis. I am not attached to these items themselves, so I don't have a problem letting them go. However, since they are good items and some very pretty, I feel bad letting them go to the trash, but feel bad donating also as I feel guilt for spending money on them. However, my husband made an important observation about opportunity cost. The time that it takes to rearrange, organize, clean, or take pictures, list, and track on eBay exceeds the value of what I could be spending my time on, such as more assertively job hunting or studying for grad school. Furthermore, on days that I am not at my best, these objects are a constant reminder of opportunities wasted and bad decisions made or decisions not thought through. They further bring me down on days when I am not motivated enough.

Extreme minimalism can be an unhealthy, cultist sort of existence, where people seem focus mainly on number of items you have (of which, I was also guilty of in my minimalism phase). However, challenging ourselves continuously to only keep things that are useful and inspiring to our present and future goals and that give value to us and our family is a wonderful balance to have. It keeps things in perspective to have things that are beautiful or that we enjoy, but not become too attached to material things that we loose sight that they are a means, but not an end.

This week, my goal is to donate anything from which I cannot sell for more than $30 on ebay (which really amounts to $20 after fees & shipping). My husband suggested that anything less than $50 should be donated, but I know eBayers are looking for an extreme bargain.

I have come to a point where looking at only a small bit of clutter makes me anxious about unfinished things and distracts my time away from my goals in terms of maintaining the items as well as my loss of energy and motivation at seeing the clutter. The past is the past as we cannot reclaim the money we have lost or spent. However, we can clear our present and aim to produce in the future.