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

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

The minute you get your first^Wnext paycheque, call a bunch of close friends over and have a throwing away party. Get some large cartons labelled "goodwill", "salvation army", "women's shelter", etc, and a final one (or several) labelled "dustbin", and have fun filling them. Then get your friends to cart them off to their several destinations before you change your mind :)

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Read the article I linked to (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-18-hoarding-usat_x.htm) in my post about saving stuff being a packrat hoarding (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sunnydale47/353237.html). It really helped me start thinking about throwing out some things I'd been loath to get rid of because "I might need them some time!" I haven't gotten a round tuit yet, but at least I've identified some stuff I will never need at any time during the entire rest of my life -- and when I start cleaning, many things I would otherwise have kept are going to go.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

I've held on to so much stuff, hauled it all over the planet for so many years, that I've had to resort to using a crowbar to pry my fingers open and let some of it go. *sigh* But let it go I must, I need the room. Things may come in handy someday, but if you can't find them, you don't really have them anyway. Good luck on your winnowing and sorting.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

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.

is this stuff too emotionally-charged to handle? does it hold too much promise of "if only..."? does it make you angry? That's the thing that stops me dead in my tracks: the emotions tied to the objects.

I like flylady's various approaches to this stuff: set the timer for 15 minutes and deal with one drawer, shelf, or box. when the timer goes off, you're done for now. that works well for me, as too-big tasks will overwhelm me to the point i can't focus, and i never get anywhere.

i put a lot of pressure on myself to keep things, especially if they belonged to mom/grandma/other dead relative and i insisted on having that item. i fear backlash from dad, or my aunt(s), or even my mother herself.

kinda makes ya wanna take the kitties, burn the house down, and start from scratch, eh?

[wordripples.livejournal.com]

Good luck! During my last purge, I started saying, "Does this thing represent the person I want to be?" If not, out it went. It was especially helpful with clothes I'd almost never worn or that reminded me of good times I'd had in them.

I turn 40 in June, so I'm trying to focus on starting life from this point and going forward, rather than hanging on to what I've lost to the past.

Once I took pictures of "reminder items" so I could keep the photos for reminders and toss the things--much less space!

[maxling.livejournal.com]

*meow yay meow*