Empty Closets

Can an empty closet give you freedom?
 
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Empty Closets
 
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as I sit down to write on this topic I happened to have on the background the TV show Stripped. On that show people voluntarily have everything they own (including clothes) taken away and put in storage a block away. Each day they get to go get one item from the storage unit. After three weeks the idea is that they will discover what they absolutely need and what they can live without.
 
When my hubby and I decided to move out of state we did a similar experiment. We gave away all our furniture, knick knacks, books, etc. and took 3 suitcases each and 10 boxes full of mostly clothing and computers. (Now granted we were moving to Hawaii, so we didn’t need as many clothes as I do here back in Michigan! ;) I truly did discover what I could live with and what I could live without. I also discovered what the sisters did tonight on the episode of Stripped: that I didn’t want all that stuff.
 
Every time we move out of a place I get rid of stuff. Every time we move into a new place I get new stuff. It is an ever revolving collecting of material to fill up empty spaces.
 
Today I am back in Michigan in a house that has many bedrooms and closets. I have found myself feeling the need to fill up the spaces with stuff. My knick knacks are growing and the need to have the space fill up has me looking for decorations to fill up that space. I need to stop.
 
I decided to make a boundary for myself- from now on my goal is to have at least some empty closets. I need to see those empty shelves as not a feeling of not enough or spaces to fill, but a badge of honor and a place of pride. It needs to represent the fact that I did not succumb to the urge to fill up those empty spaces!
 
They say if you want more money in your life, clean out a closet and get rid of stuff to make room for the new abundance to come in. It also leaves much more time. Stuff takes time to deal with, to go through, to dust, to care for, to move or unpack, or clean, or do something with it! Time is my most valuable commodity and one I need to treasure more.
 
Perhaps empty closets will be the beginning of my new adventure of stripping down to what is essential and much needed for me to live my best life.
 
What would you do if you were stripped of all your stuff? What would you need the most?
 
- JP (Jeannine Proulx)
 
#priorities #possibilities #emptyclosets! 
 
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COME CELEBRATE HUGS!!!
Celebrate human connection, love, and the power of hugs this January 21st 2018 and help us break a world record! Support the #HugMob break the hug record here:
 http://thehugmob.com/
 
Check out interviews on the Sunny Chayes show with Huggers Rick Morrison and Suzi Lula, Judy Julin and Stephanie Lodge here:
http://ubnradio.com/shows/singin-in-the-rain-with-sunny-chayes/
 
And listen to the interview with Hug Alliance founder Rick Morrison on The Mindfulness Mothers’ radio show last year!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mindfulnessmothers/2017/02/01/the-hug-store--a-tale-of-self-discovery-and-heart-with-rick-morrison