Don’t “get rid of it”! Don’t “throw it away”!
KIDDING!
Instead, let’s GIVE IT away!
I have just discovered a holiday I can REALLY get behind! It’s every July 15th and is called “National Give Something Away Day.”
If you’ve ever worked with me, you will have heard me say (over and over and over and over…) that “language is important!” Because when we use terms like “I don’t want to just throw it away” or “I guess I just have to get rid of it,” we put such a negative spin on the process of letting go that we just hate, hate, hate it. We imagine it all in a dumpster, broken and wasted.
Of course there is stuff that needs to be thrown away but, on balance, we see our possessions as items with at least some value. The thought of “just tossing it all” feels wasteful and painful, like pulling a perfectly good tooth. Am I right? So instead, we just keep it – long past the time it’s useful to us and usually until it’s no good to anyone else, either.
However, the idea of “giving things away” not only puts a positive spin on our loss-and-lack pity party, it helps us feel as though we are honoring real or perceived value of things and letting them move along to benefit someone else. Benefiting an organization doing good work, knowing they will disperse and/or sell to provide worthwhile services, can give us the same feeling.
Knowing that you’re donating while things can still be useful to someone else can give your decluttering/load lightening/downsizing/simplifying – whatever – more purpose and power.
Believe it or not, but it’s a factoid worth mentioning, that consciously donating to something you feel good about makes you feel… wait for it… GOOD! It make you feel good! There’s brain science here that says when we do such things, we get a dopamine/sertonin/oxytocin hit (similar to shopping a sale, I kid you not) that really does turn that frown upside down. Link to sciency stuff on The Neuroscience of Giving here.
So, not only does changing your language and giving-with-purpose make simplifying your life more powerful, it really and truly makes you feel better.
While I soundly advocate for making National Give Something Away Day an EVERYDAY observance, here are some thing you can do July 15th.
- DONATE to a cause you love (where to donate)
- GIVE to a family in need through a community or religious group
- GIFT family members and friends with specific items they actually love. (*note* please do NOT use “giving/gifting” as an excuse to dump stuff on others, just to make it easier on you.)
- ARTICLE on “12 Things to Declutter on National Give Something Away Day“
- My FREE DOWNLOAD “36 5-10 Minute Decluttering Wins” on my homepage.
