Just in case …

One of the first things I did as a commitment to the earth (almost ten years ago?) was to minimize my use of paper products.  So over the years I’ve accumulated a LOT of cloth napkins and naturally, I maintain seasonal variety (which will be the topic of a separate post).  I have a family of four and my signature accent color is red.  So as I went through the stack this morning, I wondered what I must have been thinking when I bought the robins-egg blue napkins.  And then I remembered that one year I “Summer-ized’ the house by replacing the red (pillows, throws and area rug) with this shade of blue.  So as I think about it, I realize that I not only have these blue napkins in the kitchen, but I have blue pillows, a blue throw and some sea shells in a closet somewhere too.

Once I made this realization, my first instinct was that I had better keep these napkins just in case I want to Summer-ize again in the future.

Then I recalled a conversation I was having with my oldest daughter yesterday about the abundance of clothes that she has and she said that many of the items she didn’t actually like anymore but she kept them just in case she changed her mind again in the near future because she had already regretted some of her decluttering choices.

And what I really heard from her was that she was afraid that if she regretted getting rid of something, she wouldn’t be able to get it back or replace it.  While this might be more understandable for a a teenager with limited sources of income, I think my own fears are  not valid and need to be faced.  I heard Debbie Ford say once that “Faith and fear cannot coexist.” and I need to remember (for myself) and demonstrate (for my family) my trust and faith that whatever I need will be provided.

How about you?  What do you keep just in case and what process do you follow to let go of your fear?