60: What Do You Struggle to Let Go?
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Welcome to episode 60 of Permission to be Messy. I'm your host, JoAnn Krall and today I have another question for you trying to keep it light this summer, but this topic isn't always so light, but I want to know what do you struggle to let go of? If you were to think right now, What has been the hardest thing for you to let go of, and you could think of this in a couple different ways.
If we're thinking of like sentimental items. It could be that you know, you really don't want to part with it. Or maybe you have items that, and I'm looking at myself right here. You have items that you struggle because there's something that you have to do with it. So for me, I just literally pulled out some mercury thermometers that I've had for years, since my kids were babies.
They're 24 and 26. And I haven't let them go because I know I have to dispose of them properly and I just haven't brought them to that place. It's like that one thing that I have.
I also have a couple of hard drives that, I've destroyed or I need to destroy, but I haven't done that.
And, I just don't want to throw them in the trash. So those are around. And the worst thing for me is old phones and technology. I always want to make, and that kind of goes along with the hard drives, but I always want to make sure that there's nothing on there that anybody can find. that's what I struggle with. is when it comes to the stuff that I'm not sure about what to let go of as far as I'm holding onto things.
I'm a work in progress. I've done really well. I've held onto a lot of sentimental things over the years and, I've been slowly letting them go. and trying to memorialize them in some way, taking a photo and telling a story about them. So they don't have the physical item, but I want to know from you like what, some people,I've had clients that cannot get rid of clothes.
I have clients that don't want to get rid of their shoes or their handbags. Or, they don't want to get rid of certain furniture pieces that they know they're just not using, like they're literally in storage. And this could be an important place to start if you have a storage unit. If you have a storage unit that you're using to store things, but it's not necessarily seasonal items like you don't have your holiday things there or your summer furniture. You have things in there that you're just holding onto. And they don't fit in your home, but you haven't let them go.
That might be a great place for you to start to think about. why you are holding onto certain items. So it was always a tell you You either love something or you need it. If it is in a storage unit and you are not visiting that storage unit again, seasonally. you probably don't need what's in there. You may love it. but again, if it's in there and you're, it's just in there. How much do you love it? That you're not displaying it. Or, or using it.and then, a lot of times what's in those storage units is what you might need someday.and again, with what you might need. Think about the cost of the storage unit, or think about the cost of, taking up space in your home.
If you're not enjoying, I'll use for an example, I'm currently in one of our other bedrooms. When my daughter moved out. I have an office in here. If this was a spare bedroom and it was just filled with junk, we wouldn't be using it. And now I'm enjoying it as a really comfortable office. I can't wait to show it to you too.
I'll be sharing it on my Instagram. I'll put my Instagram handle in the show notes. If you don't follow me. Because my daughter, she is now an interior designer and she designed this office for me and I absolutely love it. So once we finished take pictures, you'll get to see it. But again, if this was a spare bedroom that was just filled with stuff that I wasn't using or didn't need. Then I wouldn't be able to enjoy it.
So that's a cost, but then if you have a storage unit, and that's costing you money. For things that you might need someday, try to weigh out the cost. Think about the things that are in there. If they're super expensive to replace are really hard to find. Then maybe the cost of that storage unit is worth it, or the cost of taking up space in your house. But if it's things that would be really easy to find an inexpensive to buy consider letting them go. I'm a big believer that storage units are really for people who have small homes. And they don't have place for, the things that other people might normally store in a basement, an attic or garage.again, the seasonal items you decorations or seasonal items, maybe lawn mowers, or, patio furniture, things like that, that just wouldn't fit in your home. and also for temporary, some people need storage for like when my parents passed away, I got a storage unit for the things that I wanted to keep of theirs, because I knew I was eventually going to use them somewhere else. But I made sure I only kept it foras short period of time as I needed to, until I had the space for where I wanted the items to go. Um,so if you're moving and you need to. store things that's really what self storage is for and, in the seasonal items.
So if you've got a storage unit, and there's no judgment here because the storage industry is huge and it's easy. Right? It's just feels like it's an extra room in our house and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you do have a lot of items in there. I encourage you to visit it maybe once a week. And you don't have to empty it all out.
Just make some. Decisions make some decisions each week, after if you did that for an entire year. You might be able to empty it and stop paying for it
and again, as I'm recording this in the summer, if you've got an attic full of stuff and it's not,temperature controlled. Don't go tackle your attic. Wait until the winter time or the fall or the spring to do that, but,it's a great time to do basements when it's hot, because it's usually cool.
Cool in there. But garage is not so much garages. I usually tell people, try to do your garage in the spring. so you can enjoy in the summer. and then, when winter comes, it will be organized. And if you can park your car in there, if you're in a snowy area, that's great.
So I would love to hear, if you've got things that you've been struggling to let go of, reach out,my contact information is in the show notes. So you can always book a free call with me. There is absolutely no obligations with my free calls. I like to do, I call them strategy calls or organizing jumpstarts, it's really just a consultation.
It's like, you know, here's where I'm at, I can give you some tips on which way to go. if I'm a right fit for you. Great. If not, if you need to get somebody in person, or maybe you just need me to tell you about one thing and that one thing, when you're going to have a breakthrough with letting go of one item and everything else is going to be able to be, let, go with ease. Definitely take me up on that or just send me an email.
You can actually even just leave me a voicemail on my website. So I would love to hear from you.
As always I'm wishing you much progress, peace, purpose, and the permission to be messy. Thanks for listening.
