Year-long Letting Go Experiment Has Ended! Or Has It?

June 10th, 2007 marked the end of my 365-day Letting Go Experiment. During that time, I released from my life, on average, one material or non-material item each day - or a total of 365 items!

Here's how I set up my experiment:

1. I kept a log, and recorded what I released and where it went.

2. I defined "items" as "mostly material things, but could also mean habits, behaviors, limiting beliefs, subscriptions, services, or even pounds of body weight".

3. I defined "Letting Go" as "selling, giving away, or disposing of the item, or stopping the beavior on a permanent basis".

4. I created a set of "rules" or guidelines:

A. Material items include: furnishings, household items, clothing, books, cosmetics and toileteries, weekly or monthly magazines, unopened food packages (or opened food packages that were sabotaging my healthy eating habits).

B. Material items do not include: daily newspapers, mail, junk mail, miscellaneous office papers (unless these are whole files, filled notebooks, or a full trashbag of said papers), most opened food packages or spoiled food, any normally disposable item (e.g. disposable razors and the like).

C. A pound of body weight does not qualify as an "item" until and unless the weight has been off for at least a month and is in connection with an intentional weight reduction program or process.

Now, for those of you who are interested in the details of this experiment, here are some stats I gleaned from my log, in terms of categories of items released:

*Books: 26
*Magazines: 66
*Cassette tapes: 31
*Papers/Paper Goods: 17
*Household items: 31
*Clothing & Accessories: 101
*Cosmetics/Sundries/Medications: 25
*Food & Supplements: 30
*Children's Stuff/Games: 4
*Office Supplies: 8
*"Big-ticket" items: 2
*Pounds of body weight: 10
*Other non-material items: 14

Perhaps the most interesting results are the non-material ones. The ten pounds of body weight are the result of my first six weeks on Weight Watchers. I have now let go of five more pounds, with quite a few more to go. Other releases included closing two credit card accounts and one magazine subscription, removing my name from a mailing list, and resigning from a project that was not working for me. Perhaps the biggest "letting go item" for me was releasing any residual feelings of anger or upset I may have been carrying towards my mother. (This was described in a previous blog, Letting Go Experiment: Month 11.)

This experiment brought me two major insights. The first one may not be a surprise to some of you: the physical act of letting go of clutter or other extraneous material items also had the effect of helping me to clear my mind and to release non-material attitudes, beliefs, emotions, behaviors, and the like that were also no longer serving me. I find that I have released some non-productive thoughts, expectations, beliefs, and behaviors that I haven't even recorded in my log, and this has truly been the best benefit of all.

The second insight is that although 365 items sounds like a lot of stuff, it's really not. I live in a relatively small space, and yet when I look around, my space does not appear any different than it did a year ago when I began this experiment. [And I have not added anything to replace what was released.] There are lots more books, magazines, tapes, kitchen items, clothes, knick-knacks, and stuff in storage closets still to be released. And one big project has not yet been started - the de-cluttering of my office. This is my next big push.

Most of all, letting go of all this stuff has given me room to breathe more deeply - both metaphorically and physically. I feel it in my body as a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual release. In general, my attitude this year has become lighter, more relaxed, more peaceful, more joyful. My health has improved, as have other areas of my life.

And so, I have decided to extend this experiment for another year, or as long as it takes to truly clear the material and non-material clutter from my life. Stay tuned!

I hope the sharing of this experiment has inspired you to let go of the "stuff" in your life that is no longer serving you. If you would care to share your letting-go experiences, I would love to read them.


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Email: connie@conniekomack.com
Web: www.conniekomack.com