No Room?

I've been very affected by the idea of simplifying recent. I bought a FABULOUS book called "Organized Simplicity" that I would recommend to anyone, and checked a book called "Simplicity Parenting" out of the local library.

I started by putting into practice some of the things from the first book - and by that I mean, I'm going through the house and doing the ultimate de-clutter. I started the day after Thanksgiving, clearing 7 outdoor garbage bags of clothing and other stuff from our room. Most of it went to charity, though I am also prepping a garage sale once the weather turns a bit nicer.

What I didn't expect was how emotional it was for me to remove all those items. I'm a saver by nature. Sentimental, soft, I love things that remind me of the past. But when I have bins and bins of things that don't fit and are not useful to me, it all becomes overwhelming to hold onto. I was shaking and near tears when I realized the massive amount of waste and time and money and energy all of that stuff represented.

The rest of the house has not been anywhere close to as emotional, but this week I will begin on my office. I'm positive that this room will also be hard for me. I'm trying to clear out as much as possible, especially trying to make the room somewhere that BabyFish (though I probably should be calling him ToddlerFish) can hang with with me while I work. All he wants is to be with me, and because my office is too cluttered I have to keep him out.

I wonder how many other things I am keeping out by having too much clutter in my life? How much I miss out on because of the emotional and spiritual clutter?