I am a sentimental person, I kind of wish I was one of those people who could throw stuff out without a care in the world, but I have to face it, I’m not. I remember when we moved out of our home that my hubby and I first brought together after we got married, and the same home where I brought home my newborn babies to. It was hard, although we had outgrown the house I was still very attached to it. I remember clearly the day we packed the final boxes into the car, Aspen, then only 6 years old was crying her little heart out (she is so much like her mother), I held her in my arms and we cried together. It was just a house, walls, floors and a roof, how could I become so attached to a house?

What was also hard was packing the boxes because it meant going through everything and deciding what to keep. Adam was only 10 months old and I was still unsure if we would ever have another baby. My pregnancy with Adam was high risk, and both our lives had been in jeopardy due to a unusual heart condition I had developed whilst pregnant.  So I knew deep down I wouldn’t be able to have another child, but at the time I wasn’t really ready to face that my days of being pregnant or holding a newborn were over. One of the hardest things for me was packing up my baby clothes, not only had I hung onto all Adam’s adorable little 0000 clothing, but I still had all the girls stuff too! (Clearly I had too much closet space). I remember sitting on the floor holding these teeny tiny clothes and it just broke my heart. We also went through the process of giving away the baby swing, car capsule, baby sling and all the other items that we no longer needed. It wasn’t easy.

Why is it that I have such a sentimental heart? Why do I get so attached to ‘things’? I started writing this because I am in the middle of going through Adam’s closet and trying to decide what I should keep when we move. Our house has only just gone on the market so I’m in no hurry, but I am trying to de clutter as we have an open house this weekend. Adam was one and a half when we moved into our current home so he has a lot of little toddler items that he has grown out of, but they are just so cute! And I just wasted an hour going through his photo albums and baby books! 

The children have changed a lot since we moved in, the toys, books and games they enjoyed then are all different, but along the way I seemed to have held onto everything and anything. Who decided moving houses was a good idea? It’s really hard work and that is physically and emotionally. I must admit though it is good for the soul to have a big clean out. It really makes you realise how much we buy though, it’s terrible. I am determined to find good homes for all the books, games, clothes and toys that we no longer need.

I am trying to do all my sorting out whilst the children are at school, I know my children and they are too much like me, and their paternal grandmother, we want to hang onto everything. My children would refuse to let me give away anything if they knew what I was up to. All these items have fun memories attached. But the thing is, they are just things! When I really think about what I loved about our first home it was the memories we created there as a family. When I look at Adam’s little size one tops I remember what it felt like to love him as a one year old. It’s the memories that these things evoke, not the things themselves that matter.

I guess it is like grieving for what was, realising that a certain part of our lives has now passed. I read a post earlier today on youbabymemummy and she wrote about the bliss of snuggling with her little girl whilst giving her the bottle and it brought back some beautiful memories of when my babies were little. Packing up boxes, choosing what to take with us into our new home is like packing up memories. We have only been in this home a little over 4 years and I thought we would be here at least 20, already though we have made amazing memories. As I pack up the special items with care, I am packing up memories as well, wrapping each one in tissue paper and laying them gently into a box ready to take with me on our new adventure. At the same time I am saying goodbye to the past, letting go of the things I no longer need.

Before we moved into this home I was afraid that the happiness we shared in our first home wouldn’t carry through to this home, but it did, and now I have to let go of this home and remember that as long as we are together as a family we will be happy wherever we go. A house and the items in it are not what matters, they are not what holds the value of our homes. The value is what is in our hearts and we take that wherever we go. I will be doing a lot of packing over the next few months and I am going to try very hard to only hang onto the necessities, oh who am I kidding I will also be hanging onto many sentimental items too! But I do promise you that I will cut down on at least half. Deal?

Click to Tweet: It’s the people in our lives that matter, not the ‘things’ we own.

I’d love to hear from you, do you hang onto sentimental items? Do you have any of your own childhood possessions that your parents kept? Love to hear your thoughts. And don’t forget you can link up your posts below.

Thanks for joining me, love Mackenzie xx 

 Click to tweet: Come and link up your mummy posts with Mac at reflectionsfromme.com #mummy & us.  

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