No, this isn’t a post about Bulimia. I’ve only ever perfected that eating disorder halfway – I have the binging down, but I’ve never accomplished the purging.

This is about the urge to purge material possessions. I always get this urge right after Christmas and on New Year’s Day. Partly because we get extra stuff during the holidays; partly because the New Year always fills me with a need to downsize and simplify.

Our decorations are still up, and we won’t get a chance to start taking them down and putting them away until next week. But we’ve already made plans to spend next Christmas in CT with the BFJ and his hubby, so we’re planning out a modified, reduced decorate scheme for next year, which will impact the way we pack away the xmas decor. This has led to a discussion about disposing of some xmas decor, which has led to the annual “we need to downsize and dispose of our excess” discussion.

We try to avoid build-up in the house. No boxes or bins of clothes or items we don’t use. But, inevitably, things collect. So it requires constant vigilance. Our general rule is, if we haven’t used it, worn it, or displayed it in a year, we get rid of it. So everything is up for potential purging: clothes, dishes, decor, supplies…all of it can (and may) be downsized.

We prefer to give things away, as opposed to adding to the waste dumps of the world, so we gift and donate whenever possible. Family and friends, and eventually strangers, are the recipients of our discarded belongings. And it always feels good to downsize, donate, distribute, and discard.

So, over the next few weeks, we’ll evaluate all our material possessions and decide what stays and what goes. When we’re done, we will, hopefully, be left with only the things we use, cherish, and need.

Wish us luck (and send me your want lists!)