How Letting Go of ‘Stuff’ Helped Me Create More Abundance

How Letting Go of ‘Stuff’ Helped Me Create More Abundance

~ by Karen Ali

As I get ready for the tag sale, I worry: Will it rain? Will people come? Will I be able to part with the stuff that doesn’t sell?I keep telling myself that it’s clutter if: You don’t use it. You don’t love it. If it’s in a messy or disorderly area. I have my sights set on a productive day!

Preparing For Saturday’s Tag Sale

Vanessa’s thoughts on abundance during the BE Clean program stick with me. She says that by pitching the things you don’t need, you make room for what you do need, including money. Vanessa also said that sharing the abundance releases the guilt.

Part of me still feels guilty about getting rid of stuff, so this really helps.

One of my big challenges will be what to do with the items that don’t sell. The goal is not to bring anything back into the house after it’s put out.

I am excited when I call Goodwill on Thursday to find they are open fairly late on Saturday for donations. There’s no excuse now for hanging on to the items that don’t sell!

 Oh No! Thunderstorms are Predicted!

Toward the end of the week, I get a bleak forecast. Thunderstorms are predicted for Saturday. All week we were in a heat wave, but Saturday it’s supposed to storm.

I vow to put on the sale rain or shine. I will do it in the garage if I have to. I don’t want this pile in my basement den any longer.

By the end of the week, there are a fair amount of items in the tag sale pile – the blankets crocheted by my grandmother, some tablecloths of my moms, some nice linens I used in a prior home. I also pruned a lot of items from most rooms in the house, especially the bedroom. Jewelry I no longer use or love, clothing, some beauty items and books and DVDs are among the items.

The Day of the Sale Has Come

On the day of the sale I wake up, thankful that it’s not raining. It’s very hot and muggy though, and the turnout and sales aren’t super great. We hear from tag sale goers that others shut down their sales due to the heat.

We pressed on. I wanted to make the best of the day.

In the end, I made about $31 dollars. Minus the classified ad, I netted about $11.

My aunt who lives nearby brought some lamps and home decor items over and sold about $12 worth.

Even though the sales were low, I enjoyed hanging out, greeting people. I was glad when I made a sale and it got to a point where I wanted to give things away as inexpensively as possible. A Henna tattoo kit sold for $2, a chunky pearl Ann Taylor necklace sold for $2, and a bunch of clothes and shoes sold for a collective $10.

Then, when it was over at 3 p.m., we took most of the stuff to Goodwill. The weather held out until 3:30 or so when the storms rolled through. We just made it.

What I Gained When I Let Go

I decided not to donate a plant holder that I really like. I realize it would be a great Feng shui addition. Its corners are rounded, which is hard to find in furniture. I bought it with Feng shui principles in mind several years ago and realize that this is an important practice I want to focus on, so I will start using it again instead of keeping it stored in the basement, where it had been. Pretty much everything else went to Goodwill. It felt really great stuffing all sorts of items in the big Goodwill bin.

Best of all, the worry over missing Grandma’s blankets and the other stuff, didn’t continue to consume me after the sale. As we left Goodwill, I was happy that a weight was lifted.

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‘Tis the season to detox and de-clutter. Starting up on March 20th, we’ll be hosting our be clean program. If you’re feeling the spring cleaning bug, this is the perfect program to help you clear out the old and make space for something better. You can read all about the program here:

Karen Ali is a writer from Connecticut who has worked as a reporter, editor, columnist, and social media editor. While Karen’s background is in hard news, she always had a soft spot for holistic ventures and loves to write about her healthy pursuits. One of her recent hobbies is trying to eat at every health food restaurant she can find.