Thoughts From Decluttering

I've made good progress on my goal of decluttering, only my work files and inbox left to be tackled. I've decluttered pretty much everything: my closet, shelves, cabinets, drawers, tables, personal files, boxes in storage, wallet, work bag, car. Here are my thoughts from this exercise:

• There were certain things I stored because I was waiting for the "best time" to use them, but I’d forgotten I had them in the first place, leaving them frozen and useless all this time. What a waste. They were meant to be enjoyed, not stored! It's just like life, I guess. Sometimes we fail to live for the present because we're on a perpetual wait-and-see mode, or we're hung up on the past...And so, moments pass us by.
• I realized I own several things I used once or a few times, then never again. So much accumulated stuff, many of them not really necessary. Amidst the decluttering, I made a resolution to invest more on living life fully, than on things. (On cue, Mr. Postman arrived to deliver my 2009 Repertory season tickets! Watching plays is one activity I enjoy and miss, and I intend to resume it next year).
• I threw away all my stored college stuff, except for this one file I couldn't bear to discard: my notes, handouts, reviewers, and compositions from four sems of Philosophy classes. These classes (all of which I chose to take in Filipino) are without doubt one of the best parts of my Ateneo education.
• I confirmed (yet again) that I could be ruthlessly unsentimental if I so choose :p

It's definitely good practice to declutter every now and then! Below is an excerpt from my favorite book Letters To My Son, this time on Possessions:

"But most of all I want you to know that possessions become what you make them. If they increase your capacity to give, they become something good. If they increase your focus on yourself and become standards by which you measure other people, they become something bad. It is in your hands to give them meaning. Periodically purge yourself. Give away what you don't use. Go on a long trip and take only a single pack. Do something to remind yourself that most of the possessions you thought were important are nothing but superficial decorations on who you really are."