Some thoughts about letting go hobbies and gaining space, time and energy back

[canadian gardener]

I've just let go of my old knitting projects, some of which date back almost 10 years. My entire stash with the exception of the dishcloth yarns. Those I still do, and enjoy doing.

I am strongly considering doing the same with some of my sewing stash.

AND next year turning over the veggie garden back to easy to mow lawn.

I gave up canning this year.

WHY???????

Well walk with me a bit and I'll explain it. I know it sounds drastic but I need to simplify.

I needed extra room in my home and my time and energy to allow my adult son to move back in for a few months, and it's my dd's last year at home.

Lord willing and the creek don't flood, they will both graduate this June. Ds will actually graduate in January but ceremony is in June.

I feel a strong need to make room and make my kids feel welcome to come back, to not feel like they are putting me out by coming home when they need to.

At the same time I'm feeling a pull to rethink my hobbies and the time, energy and space they take

most especially the emotional drain, when I feel like I SHOULD do this or that because I have an investment in that wool, that cloth, or that garden or the canning equipment.

I'm not in that space anymore. In fact the more I think about it the more I'm seeing that I've changed and I need to let go some more things that are no longer a priority for me.

What are the things I want in their place?

Time and energy for my son and daughter before they launch out into their separate lives. time to talk as they want, time to cook for them, enjoy their jokes.

Time to write.

Time to spend with friends online. It's a choice, and often times I'm making the choice to be here, not upstairs sewing. AND IM" GETTING MORE OUT OF BEING HERE!!!!

and reading, and playing with my cooking and baking.

So it's not bad to pull aside and re think what are my hobbies, what are they doing FOR ME and not how I have to make them worthwhile investments.

they have been, they've paid their way, but I don't owe them anything.

And when they continue to hang around my home they take up space I'd rather use for other things, they take up emotional attention and energy as I pass the sewing room and think, oh I should get this or that done.

What is, IS and I'm a different woman now than I used to be.

I need to let go and simplify my life so I can live it in the here and now, not in my past dreams of knitting this or that.

It doesn't mean I can't pick all this stuff back up later, just that right now, I don't need or want it in my life or house any longer.

But even if it is postponing for later, it’s wise not to keep it in the house for future reference. When I want to pick it back up again, the last thing I want to spend that precious beginner energy on is an old project that has lost it’s resonance and specialness.

this is what I wrote the other day in the Inner simplicity vs Frugality thread:Inner simplicity vs frugality - can they live side by side

"One year to the next brings changes.

I didn't garden at all this year, so glad I did all that mulching last year before my surgery. Just a lot of back and forth travel and even with my new and improved energy, I need lots of recovery between travelling and guests.

Dh and I are considering putting the rasberries in 2 or 3 big rows with lots and lots of plastic in between, to make a rasberry bed, and that is it.

I'm not doing my compost again this year and I've dejunked a lot of stuff to the charity.

I got rid of my grain grinder, bread machines and some of my canning equipment and my dehydrator. Gave it to someone who will enjoy it all, and she has the freedom to let go of it somewhere further as her circumstances change.

My life has changed, and in the interests of easier cleaning, I get rid of stuff I no longer use.

There was a time for all that, and it's not now anymore, so I'm dealing with now and liking the freedom.

I got rid of all my ufo knitting projects, and my wool stash apart from my perennial love of dishcloth yarn because that IS what I knit consistently.

the freedom is fantastic.

I got rid of a lot of homeschool stuff, letting dd decide what she wants to keep for her kids/classroom later.

That is simplifying my life, by letting go my expectations of who I am right now. Yes I'm a former homeschooler and wanna be granny (but not TOO soon), yes I used to make all our bread, yes I'm a good gardener but my needs are changing.

Our son moved back home, I need space, and I need simplicity more than ever before, streamlined living and this is me now.

I want to write more, read more, and enjoy the last year of having kids at home. They both leave, ds this January, dd next May.

I will have a completely empty nest and what I've always done is live in the present, and enjoy what is NOW, so there are no regrets later.

That means ditching last years expectations and dreams for NOW and to free me up to be something different NEXT year."

[homesteadmamma]

Well friend, has you know already were on the same wavelength. I'm finding the exact same thing in my life right now and its been so freeing to give up things.

My reasons are a bit different than yours and yet in some ways the same. I can't go into full detail here but knowing that I'm simplifying has made my life so much easier to look at the challenges that lie ahead.

I too firmly believe we change over time and its so important to recognize that and not be afraid of change but to flow with it. Awe simplifying is just so rewarding and frees us up to do other things that were passionate about rather than umpteen things we could care less about and don't even enjoy doing.

[paelthom]

Beautiful and very true thoughts. Sometimes growing means letting go of the things that are holding you down.

[canadian gardener]

In a simplified form it's the old Don Aslett question to ask your stuff--

do you bring me more joy and energy or time

or do you take it away from me? even in subtle small ways.

[forestdale]

I'm glad you've felt the need for change and gone with it instead of fighting it. I hope you enjoy this coming year with your kids. You've made time and space for them and you'll be enjoying yourself writing and doing the "mum" things. Congratulations on organizing your life so it suits you and not your possessions.