condensing...

well, since i dont really live in the states, i have had to condense my "earthly" belongings and decide what i need to keep and to trash or donate. this process has been interesting, as i think back about how it has been a process. ever since we moved to chicago, i have had to deal with the condensing process--mostly due to the constant reminders from my dad--"eileen, you need to get rid of all your crap...how many pairs of shoes you need? you have too many clothes. you dont even know how many clothes you have. how long are you goin to keep these things? you dont need that anymore. etc. etc. " so to lessen the nagging, i periodically go to the storage closet at the end of our hallway and go though my old things, and condense.

since i have been doing this little by little the last 5 years, it has been interesting to think about what i decide to throw out the current year, that for some reason i wanted to keep the previous year. each year, i realize how much of those things i dont need anymore, or want to throw out.

maybe this is like our hearts...and why we need to do heart house keeping/condensing too. we dont need to keep all the crap that is stored in our hearts for the rest of our lives. we need to condense to the simpler, more important things in our lives, that need the majority of space in our hearts, versus all the small clutter that wants to be important. sometimes we think we need all of it, and think we can live with all of it...until we move into a new environment or situation and realize that it is too much for us to handle, and sometimes we need the gentle nagging and reminders to clean our crap out, so we will have room for the more important things in our lives.

what do you need to clean out...and what do you need more room for?