The things I regret getting rid of are few but have you ever gotten rid of something to make space but regretted it later?
This lovely cherry vendor was so excited about filling his sign with the word Cherries that he got rid of the E to make the name fit. That, or maybe he just forgot it in his hurry. Don’t get me wrong; I understand what he is saying… I’m not particularly missing the ‘E’ here. But it did get me thinking.
Have you ever gotten rid of something to make space but later regretted it?
I’ve only had one client in 15 years that genuinely regretted letting go of something they got rid of. It was an old speaker that he hadn’t used in years. True to Murphy’s Law, within weeks of letting the speaker go, his current speaker broke. He was full of frustration about how he purged something that he could have used. It tortured him for weeks. In all honesty, he may still be triggered by it today.
Now, in all honesty…
we don’t even know if the old speaker worked. It hadn’t been used in forever and had been sitting in storage for over ten years. It was miserable, but something about him releasing an object that might have been useful caused him a lot of distress. This situation could have been a validation that he should hold onto his storage unit and everything inside. But it also presented him with a wonderful opportunity to explore the deeper issues of why it was so hard to release items. He chose to work through his feelings, honor his grief, and continue to clear out his storage units.
As for myself, I think the only things I regret getting rid of is my High School Graduation cap and gown. I have no idea what I was thinking when I let them go, but gone they are. I tend to be a bit of a Quick Draw McGraw when it comes to paring down. Occupational hazard mixed with moving a lot. But the truth is that I don’t need them. I have pictures of me wearing them, I don’t have any kids to pass them down to, and if I did own them, still I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t have set a hand on them in at least 20 years by now. This was an excellent opportunity for me to sit with why I am so quick to purge items that I am not using… sometimes to my detriment.
Organizing is full of opportunities to learn about ourselves and grow.
Back to our “Cherris” friend… the extra special thing about this picture is that in the background of the image, there is a heart… The same vendor painted it. It feels like the perfect reminder to have love and compassion for ourselves, even when we make choices that we later regret or struggle with.
Is there anything you’ve ever gotten rid of to make space that you regretted later? Tell me about it in the comments below. We’ve all done it. I would love to hear about yours. It can be painful to think of, but together we can make peace with it and move forward more lightly.
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