On sunny autumn days as the time moves toward the sweet light of sunset, it often looks like the world has caught fire as the trees are cast in shades of crimson, orange, and yellow.
Soon the branches will be bare, and once again, I’m reminded that there’s indeed a season for everything, and fall…fall is all about letting go.
I want to be like those trees — getting rid of everything that’s unnecessary, paring down to bare bones.
Freed from everything that’s not absolutely essential.
Like a tree getting rid of its leaves, I’ve indulged in some letting go this year.
So many things are gone!
Clothes I don’t wear, dishes I don’t use, tchotchkes I’ve dusted for years and kept out of habit.
I made hard decisions while going through my crafting supplies.
It took a while, but I finally admitted to myself I have no interest in ever again doing counted cross stitch or bead work. While I love quilting, I don’t love “sewing”…so I won’t ever make clothes for myself again.
Out it all went!
And the results are absolutely amazing!!
Like the whole house is a gazillion pounds lighter, and I have room to focus on what I really want out of this particular season in my life.
Making peace with the “what I don’t want” means there’s more space for the “what I do want.”
Do I miss the stuff that’s not there?
Nope. Not even a little bit.
Because I’m too busy enjoying all the things (and believe me, there are still plenty of things!) that are still there, things that I can really see now.
And whittling down my list of things that I do? Do I miss the cross stitch books and notions?
Nope. Not at all.
Because I have more time and space for what’s left behind (and there are still plenty of projects and activities).
When I started I took William Morris’s words as my guiding principle: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Words to live by when it comes to clearing and making space in your house for all you love best in the world.