Do you collect items for the life you wish you were living?

How many items are you hanging onto in the home that you used to use for a certain hobby that you’re not doing anymore? Are you holding onto things that you collect because you had dreams of learning to play a musical instrument or working out at home?

In this episode, I’m bringing to your attention five areas in your fantasy life to help you let go of the clutter that is possibly causing you overwhelm, anxiety, or disappointment in yourself. If you started something and didn’t finish it or wanted to be a certain type of mom and that person is just not you during this season of your life, I’m giving you permission to LET IT GO.

You are not a failure and you don’t need items in your home reminding you of fictitious expectations you just didn’t live up to. You deserve to be free.

Area #1: Declutter Crafts

At some point, you were really crafty. You may have enjoyed scrapbooking, crocheting, or DIY projects. Your life has changed in the past couple of years, and you stored all those craft supplies in cabinets and closets thinking that you would make some time to get back to being creative.

However, all you feel is overwhelmed by the mountain of craft supplies you’re holding on to. You really want to be a craft mom but you don’t have the time, the energy, or the desire to get it all out only to have your kids want to craft with you. I mean it’s sweet that they want to join in but you know the mess it will create. What you truly want is to be able to craft by yourself but let’s face it. That’s not happening for the next ten-plus years.

Instead of storing it for years until you can actually craft again, let the craft supplies go and let yourself collect what you need when the time comes. You don’t have to keep items just because you spent money on them either. If the supplies are just sitting in cabinets and closets, then it’s being wasted and not put to good use now.

Let yourself start living for today and stop holding onto craft projects you will eventually get around to.

Area #2: Declutter Musical Instruments and Gear

When I turned 30 years old, I wanted to learn to play the piano. I took lessons for almost a year and so did my kids, but our life changed. We had to sell our piano because we moved into our RV over a year and I wasn’t able to practice the piano. When we finally bought another piano, I replaced the time and interest I had to practice the piano with other hobbies.

Now, we still have the piano and won’t be getting rid of it anytime soon because it’s not in the way and fits perfectly in a spot in our living room. Recently I was decluttering my office and realized I had a box of piano books that weren’t being used and I really didn’t want to store them anymore.

They were perfectly good books and I really do want to play the piano but seeing all those books overwhelmed me. Even if I wanted to start playing the piano again one day, I wouldn’t know where to start because there were too many books to choose from. So I decided to let them go and free myself of the burden of disappointment.

Do you have similar musical items you’re hanging on to that you’re considering letting go? You definitely don’t have to purge those items but consider the peace of mind you have to gain by releasing the weight you’re carrying.

Area #3: Declutter Exercise Equipment

Do you have a treadmill in a corner of your bedroom that serves as a place to hang your clothes until you put them away? But you never end up putting those clothes away and you never use the treadmill either. Do you also have some hand weights that are collecting dust in a closet or underneath your t.v. entertainment stand and you keep thinking that next Monday you’re going to start working out at home? But you never do.

You may have thought collecting exercise equipment was going to make you more consistent with exercising. You have dreams of working out at home to lose weight but it’s just not happening. You may think to yourself that you have to save all that exercise equipment because you spent money on it and to get rid of it would be a waste.

The real waste is the energy that you are expelling thinking about how you’re not exercising. And all those exercise equipment and supplies are just a constant reminder of how you’re not doing what you say you’re going to do.

Friend, let me encourage you that if you’re not losing weight or getting healthy with the exercise equipment you’ve collected at home, it’s time to do something else like joining a health club or gym. If you purge all your unused exercise equipment and you find yourself wanting to work out at home, your body weight is a great alternative.

Downsize what you currently have, set small achievable goals, and simplify the expectations and pressure you put on yourself. Get good at just one exercise routine before adding more equipment that you now have to manage.

Area #4: Declutter Cooking Gadgets and Utensils

Did you go to a Pampered Chef party, watch an entertaining cooking demonstration using all the neatest gadgets, and purchased several only to never use them? Been there. Done that. I even signed up as a rep and sold kitchen gadgets for a year while pregnant with my second child. I actually thought I was going to pay off our house. Haha.

But seriously, do you have some kitchen gadgets or utensils you’re not using but you really want to be that person? Maybe you’ve even collected some cookbooks and you’ve never cracked them open. All this stuff is either taking up space for what you really use in your kitchen or it’s causing a subliminal feeling of disappointment of never following through.

It’s okay to release yourself from the need to keep these should-have, could-have, and would-have items. You have a lot of daily pressures and you don’t have to keep items that add unnecessary pressure.

Area #5: Declutter Kids’ Toys

Do you have some toys that your kids aren’t playing with anymore, or they never have, but you’re hanging onto them because you really want them to play with them? Maybe they were your own childhood toys and they bring you joy when you see them in your kids’ bedrooms. Your kids just won’t play with those toys and you actually find yourself wasting time picking them up on a regular basis.

I know it’s hard to let go of toys. I’ve been there myself multiple times. My mom saved my pink two-story 1990’s Barbie Dream House and I gave it to my daughter when she was ready. However, she never played with it. It took up a lot of space in her bedroom. After a couple of months, I decided to let it go and listed it on Facebook Marketplace for sale.

It was hard and it made me a little sad to let it go but I never regretted it. My daughter didn’t want my Barbie house. She wanted to be able to choose her own. And I did end up getting her another Barbie house that she actually played with and enjoyed.

If you find yourself frustrated with the number of toys your children have and their inability to reset up their rooms, consider decluttering the toys your children aren’t playing with. Especially the toys you really want them to play with but they just aren’t

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I’d love to hear from you!

Which one of these areas do you have stuff you’re holding on to? Do you find it hard to let go of the items in this area? Tell me about the life you once lived or dreamed about living with these items? I’m hear to support you!

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