Unloading

[cjsmith]

A friend of mine is making wonderful progress on clearing STUFF out of her house. She mentioned how good it feels.

I remember how good it felt to me. I used to be able to get rid of crap, and I always felt better afterwards. It was a weight off my shoulders, a load off my mind, an uplifting of my soul. It was wonderful. I remember.

So why can't I get rid of STUFF any more? I go from one shelf or drawer to the next, and then in mild annoyance I try again in another room, but I'm not truly willing to part with anything I see.

I bet a lot of this has to do with having no paycheck for the last fifteen months. Every object in the house could conceivably - chant it with me now - "come in handy some day". If I can't deceive myself with that tired old line, the object still could be of value to SOMEone, and so it's awfully hard to throw it away. But selling it is a hassle, often more hassle than it's worth. Even finding someone who wants a thing for free is often a hassle. So I don't do anything... and I'm surrounded by STUFF.

Comments

I posted this in february

[ossie.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ossie/2004/02/01/


one of these days I will probably give away a ton of stuff that I really dont need, or put them on Ebay,
I am such a pack-rat, always feeling I can make something work again if its broken,
there really is no reason I should keep old VCRs or CD players that dont work anymore in the garage, I will never look at them and try to fix them, VCRS got so cheap its not worth it anymore,
I guess Mondays trash pile might get a little higher if I just threw away the old things that dont work,



see we all are pretty much the same, save everything, there was a program a few weeks ago about people who hoard stuff.
I thought it would lead me into a place that I would start cleaning out my garage and throw away stuff, but I didnt,

anyway good luck with your stuff,


take care
Ossie

Re: I posted this in february

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

see we all are pretty much the same, save everything

Oh, it's so true. Lots of people struggle with this. I read a book once that said (among other very good things) "The Universe throws crap at you. Your job is to throw it back."

there was a program a few weeks ago about people who hoard stuff. I thought it would lead me into a place that I would start cleaning out my garage and throw away stuff, but I didnt

Yeah. That book I mentioned had little stories about people who have it a lot worse than I do. That did motivate me. There was relief that my own life isn't that bad (at least not yet) and energy to help keep me from getting worse. It always seems so easy when I read about someone else's problem. Oh, he collects old broken refrigerators? And he needed to buy a chunk of land to put them all on? Well. I know what I'd do if I were HIM. So then sometimes I have some energy to go do what I should do if I'm ME.

I think I'll reread that book. :-)