Are you considering (or in the process of) selling everything to travel, live full time in an RV, or move into a smaller home? One of the hardest parts of the journey toward a more minimalistic life free from clutter and excess “things” is figuring out what to do with belongings that are attached to precious memories and feelings of familiarity. A while back I wrote an article on my other website, RVinspiration.com, with my five main suggestions that can help. To read it, click the button below:
I have not a lot of sentimental clutter but my husband calls our living room a museum. I do not see it that way. Both my parents are gone now & I have no contact with my 2 biological sisters. Perhaps I need help with letting some things go, but I don’t know how.
Aww, that’s hard. I think it’s important that you yourself are wanting to declutter, downsize, simplify, etc., otherwise letting go of things you still value will be even harder. Still, living with another person means respecting that the space is theirs as well. As a first step, could you maybe move some of the items in your living room to a less prominent location where you’ll see them but your husband won’t feel bothered by them? If you have a lot of photographs in frames, for example, maybe you could put some them in an album instead where you can still look at them whenever you feel like it? If you have a lot of knick-knacks sitting on shelves where they may become dusty, maybe you could get a shadow box with shelves to mount on the wall in another room so the items will be protected from dust? Another thing I would suggest is that you clean each item (if you don’t already) and as you do so, think about whether the item brings you joy (Marie Kondo style) or whether you’re keeping it because you feel sad or guilty about letting go of it. For now, just observe any feelings of sadness or guilt that come up, and be aware of them. Then you might start looking for opportunities to gift, sell, or donate those items, without feeling pressure to do it right away. Hopefully some of these ideas will be helpful to you! Best wishes. <3