After living 41 years in the same home, I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff and things. My garage is packed. I’ve released a few things, but there’s so much more. And I ask myself, why am I keeping it? Have I used it in the past year? Is it serving me now? Do the kids want any of it?

There are the children’s boxes. There are things my own mother sent me years ago. Some are in the house, and I’ve been the guardian of such things as  glassware, china, a mid-twentieth century dining set and more. My mother, shortly before she died, sent all that, along with the mahogany piano purchased when I was 15 years of age, to me in California from West Virginia. She was left with a card table in the dining room, but that was fine with her.

Now I find myself in a similar situation, but the kids don’t want the stuff. They have their own stuff and things. My daughter took the my mother’s collection of china teacups. My son expressed interest in the piano at one point, but now has his own computerized keyboard. His comic books are still here, and he wants those when he has room for them.

When I was in my mid-thirties, I was visiting the family home and my mother asked me to clean out her attic. I was strong and robust, and it was easy enough to use the folding staircase to go up there and throw down things for sorting and transporting to the back yard. There we set up everything and she called the Salvation Army to come and get it.

I saved a few things from that experience, such as my grade school report cards (why?) and high school and college yearbooks. So many things went…those formal gowns from high school proms,  memorabilia from school days, old toys, household goods left by my brother when he traveled West, and more. The backyard filled up.

So now, as I look at my own garage, I am ready to release stuff. I gave my bicycle, a girl’s bicycle, to my 78-year-old brother, because he is having trouble getting his arthritic knees over bar on his boy’s bicycle, and he still likes to bike. Someone at my spiritual center mentioned she needed a new wheelchair, and I said…I have one in my garage, a large size, and also a rolling walker with a seat. Come and see them. If they work for you, take them. She also mentioned looking for a recliner, and I said, I have one in my living room, jumbo size, as my husband was a big man.

I’m in the mood to use the Law of Circulation: release the chair, liberate the space for something different, and find someone who can use the chair and  other things.  I don’t want to have a garage sale. I don’t want to have strangers visiting my home from Craig’s List. I’m told I can get a tax write-off. I would rather just give things away to someone who I know can use them.

Another staff minister at my spiritual center suggesting putting up a list of things available to the congregation. What a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that? Because I was thinking:  maybe I’ll have a garage sale; maybe I’ll use Craig’s List; maybe I’ll donate and get a tax write-off. But I haven’t.

So the time has come.

Release and let go. Visualize that pristine, empty garage. Gosh, maybe the car could actually fit in there. The garage has never housed a car.

Let’s affirm: I release stuff and things I have ceased using or no longer serve me. I give generously to those who can use my superfluous stuff. I liberate space in my home, in my personal space, and in my mind. I declutter. I feel free.