Yesterday I went to my aunt's house to help her get ready for her yard sale next week. When I arrived there she was well on her way to organizing and going through items. I sat there watching her go through each box and give me an explanation of the contents and what was going to happen to them. Occasionally there was hesitation on an item and she would look at me, explain, and then ask what I thought. It was as though she was wanting permission to get rid of the item. You see a lot of the items were given by family members or had memories attached.
I understand this reaction quite well as I go through my own things for a yard sale. Things I love (or like) that were given to me or have a fond memory are hard to let go of but if I don't then my house becomes full and I feel like a hoarder. Like my aunt, I don't want to leave a mess behind for others to go through (my mama was like this) so we are going through and dispersing items that we don't use or need.
The hardest part of all of this is giving yourself permission to let go. I told my aunt its okay to give ourselves this permission to let go of the item but keep the memory attached. I have to admit I think she is much better at it than me.
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