Do the Things You Keep Still Reflect Who You Are?
As we put the Christmas and New Year holidays behind us and roll into 2026, I’ve been reflecting on a simple but uncomfortable question:
Do you still see yourself reflected in the things you choose to keep in your life?
That question came into focus for me this past weekend as we started taking down our Christmas tree.
I realized something I’m guilty of—keeping things simply because we’ve always had them. In this case, it was a set of glossy red ornaments we bought nearly 15 years ago. At the time, they felt perfect. We envisioned a red-and-white Christmas tree with white lights and a simple elegance that delighted me year after year.
And for a long time, it did.
So what changed?
I did.
Our family dynamic has shifted as the kids have grown and moved out. What once spoke to me as a younger man and a dad in a different season of life doesn’t resonate in quite the same way now. My taste has evolved. The colors I’m drawn to have changed. And yet, year after year, we kept putting up the same ornaments.
Not because they still reflected who we are—but because it was easier not to think about it.
This year, I noticed something subtle but important. While the tree was still beautiful, I didn’t really see us in it anymore. Those glossy red ornaments felt less like a reflection of our present life and more like a snapshot of who we used to be.
That realization connects directly to the work my wife and I do every day.
Our business focuses on helping people declutter their homes, prepare for moves, and navigate major life transitions—downsizing, assisted living, retirement. People often assume that because we do this work for a living, letting go of our own things must come easily.
It doesn’t.
We have emotional attachments to our belongings too—sometimes well beyond what’s rational.
Here’s the challenge I see most often as we get older:
Our things begin to set our habits.
Once we have “stuff,” we stop questioning it. We settle into routines. We keep things not because they still serve us, but because they’re familiar. We don’t pause to ask whether what surrounds us still fits who we are today.
Think about the clothes you wore 20 years ago. Would you wear them now? If they’re still hanging in your closet and you tried them on today—even if they fit—would you recognize the person in the mirror?
Now apply that same question to the rest of your belongings.
Do they still bring you joy?
Do they still reflect who you are today?
Or are they reminders of a version of yourself that no longer exists?
Perhaps the deeper question is this: do the things we keep help us focus on who we are becoming—or do they keep us looking in the rearview mirror at who we’ve been?
If it’s the latter, it may be time to let some of those things go.
As for me, the glossy red ornaments are being donated. Maybe they’ll bring joy to someone else in a season where they belong. For us, it’s time to move forward—into a new color scheme for 2026, and a home that better reflects who we are now.
If you’re navigating a life transition and feeling stuck, you don’t have to do it alone.
Click HERE to take the first step!
By Jason Elkin