One of the seductive things about cleaning out the household deadwood is stepping back and seeing all that space again on the closet and bookcase shelves.  I almost never throw away books, but I’ve found that computer manuals are something I have to make an exception to that rule for, or else I wouldn’t have any room to move here at Casa del Garrett.  I’m dragging tons of old manuals for software I haven’t so much as thought about in over a decade to the recycling drop-off, and the effect is I can suddenly see a lot of open space here in the front office. 

Just like when I first moved here.

You let go of all the old stuff in your life and suddenly you have room for new stuff.  And you glance around your nest and it feels like you have a life in front of you again, instead of one that’s mostly behind you.