Joy, Fulfillment & No Regrets

When we sold our home in Illinois and moved to Maine, we let go of nearly 75% of our belongings.  It’s been more than 6 years since we completed that major endeavor and every day I find more joy and fulfillment in living with less.The process of letting it all go wasn’t easy.  It took nearly a year and a half of sorting, deciding, selling and donating.  Some days were hard.  Really hard.  But the decision had been made and there was a deadline on the horizon so we moved forward steadily and intentionally, always keeping our eye on our big goals.I’ve been asked many times if I have any regrets about anything we let go.  And my answer to this day is still a resounding “No.”  Not. One. Thing.I know that the key to having no regrets was taking our time to simplify.  Time was our gift.  It allowed us to make well thought through decisions It allowed us to create a “revisit” category so we could go back to those more challenging items with fresh eyes and a clear mind…when we were ready.Time also gave us the gift of being able to make intentional choices about where we donated specific items.  Taking the bags of blankets to the animal shelter, the old eyeglasses to the local optometrist’s office and the books to the library made us feel good about letting what we were doing.  This fulfillment began in the midst of the letting go.  Knowing that all of those things that no longer served us were being passed on to people and places that would enjoy them made it so much easier to decide what stayed and what went.  That revisit pile got smaller and smaller as we progressed while our hearts felt fuller.  Ultimately, we were filling our buckets while we were emptying our home.The process took time and each time we let go of something, we felt lighter.   The heaviness that had once surrounded us deep in the corners of the crawl space and high up on the shelves in our closets, gradually lifted.Although that piece of our simple living journey is behind us and we’re living the dream we set out to create, the simplifying process is never completely finished.  But often now, in this simpler life, I find myself reflecting on those days-not all that long ago-that got us here.  And when I do, I’m filled with gratitude.  It certainly was, and still is, a journey, but it’s one I look back on with joy and fulfillment.  And no regrets.To Simplicity, Joy & No Regrets,Lisa