For to long I have been moving so much rubbish from place to place, and recently after de-junking my bathroom I can actually trace a particular lipstick back to when I was 13! It is quite starling that this lipstick has moved with me since I became a teenager. I can even remember buying it, a lurid shade of bright pink that was very in back in the 80's, which is ever such a long time ago, and I would put money on it that at some stage it has probably been re-launched as a 'vintage' range by the manufacturer.
Over the past three decades, I have moved a lot! And to think that this is just one item that I have felt the need to take with me really is just the tip of the iceberg. Now childhood toys, that provoke real nostalgia are understandable. But LIPSTICKS!!! more so a lipstick that I have not even worn since I first bought it.....
And that was just one, there was with it a whole host of others, as well as blushers, false eyelashes, mascaras, eye shadows and hair styling products. Surely I cannot be the only one to hold on to cosmetics, and then I found this http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1253442/Women-warned-make-bacteria-risk-average-cosmetics-bag-years-date.html Nice to know that I am way WAY above average on how out of date my make up bag is.
But in the grand scheme of things, we cart around so much rubbish and not just physical things. What about mental and emotional junk that we cant get rid of with a bin bag?
These past few months have been the start of a huge journey for me into my own self, I have questioned who I am and where I want to go in life. As a person I have been shaped by those who are a constant and important part are of my life, but emotionally I have been affected hugely by those who have just been passing through, and by god some of them I really would love to put in a plastic bag and 'dump'. The worst thing is that it has been those 'passers through' who have had a more profound effect on my mental health than my constants. My ex- husbands words still ring in my ears today, and it's stupid as he and one particular boyfriend since were just manipulative, emotional vampires.
So, what may have started as a bathroom cleanup is really the beginning of a complete mind, body and soul make over. It has been dawning on me lately that my inner voice may not be my own but some of those 'Velcro monkeys' (thanks Eileen at Enterprising Women!)
So, going back to that 29 yes 29!!!!! year old lipstick, has it really benefited me to keep hold of it, and now it's gone, do I actually miss it?
Short answer is NO!
Do I feel better for getting rid of it? - Hell yes! Every time I walk into my nice shiny new bathroom, I feel so happy. Something that I didn't think would happen, I honestly thought I would grieve over outdated makeup - how bloody ridiculous! It's this constant battle that goes on in my head over waste, but how much energy have I been wasting over the years moving stuff around with me.
And the big effect it has had is in my buying habits, yes it has only been a week, but already I have been asking myself Do I really need that? Have I really got a burning need for that thing?
To sum up, if we keep living and carrying around our past rather than learn buy it, how can we ever move forward without fear of the unknown.....
now, wheres my Teflon overcoat ;-)
