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Puzzles: (Mentioned else-LJ, then brought here.)
On Sunday I went through six boxes of mechanical puzzles -- you know, get the ring off the rope, get the chain untangled from the horseshoes, assemble a cube from these fifteen pieces, that kind of thing. I set aside as many of those puzzles for freecycling as I could manage. I think I kept about half, although they're the larger ones; I'm only down to four boxes. I'll do another pass later.
Labels:
The hard part of letting go wasn't that I loved each individual puzzle. The hard part was that I loved my image of myself as a person who enjoys puzzles and owns many fun puzzles. It was that self-image I was letting go of as I set aside each puzzle. It's hard to let go of a cherished label I have put on myself.
On the other hand, I find it easy to pick up new labels for myself. Because labels can come with a lot of physical baggage, I guess I've got to learn to let go of the ones I no longer need.
What labels are you holding on to? Do you add new ones easily? Do you let go of old ones easily?
If I had been asked a week ago "What would it take for the label lover-of-puzzles-and-owner-of-many-fun-puzzles to no longer fit you?" I would have said "I'd have to not be me any more." Today I say "Heh, all it took was needing some shelf space." I wonder how many more like that I've got. They can be hard to see.
Decluttering in passes:
Often I can get rid of half of a pile, or perhaps a third of a pile, in an hour. Often it would take me all day to get rid of three-quarters of that same pile. So I'll do the half and let it sit for a few weeks.
I am currently due for new passes on jigsaw puzzles, clothing, old techie books, and believe it or not, shoes. (Hey, those can be hard to let go of. It took me fifteen years to find hiking boots that fit. If a miracle occurs, I don't want to spend another fifteen years in bad boots.)
On Sunday I went through six boxes of mechanical puzzles -- you know, get the ring off the rope, get the chain untangled from the horseshoes, assemble a cube from these fifteen pieces, that kind of thing. I set aside as many of those puzzles for freecycling as I could manage. I think I kept about half, although they're the larger ones; I'm only down to four boxes. I'll do another pass later.
Labels:
The hard part of letting go wasn't that I loved each individual puzzle. The hard part was that I loved my image of myself as a person who enjoys puzzles and owns many fun puzzles. It was that self-image I was letting go of as I set aside each puzzle. It's hard to let go of a cherished label I have put on myself.
On the other hand, I find it easy to pick up new labels for myself. Because labels can come with a lot of physical baggage, I guess I've got to learn to let go of the ones I no longer need.
What labels are you holding on to? Do you add new ones easily? Do you let go of old ones easily?
If I had been asked a week ago "What would it take for the label lover-of-puzzles-and-owner-of-many-fun-puzzles to no longer fit you?" I would have said "I'd have to not be me any more." Today I say "Heh, all it took was needing some shelf space." I wonder how many more like that I've got. They can be hard to see.
Decluttering in passes:
Often I can get rid of half of a pile, or perhaps a third of a pile, in an hour. Often it would take me all day to get rid of three-quarters of that same pile. So I'll do the half and let it sit for a few weeks.
I am currently due for new passes on jigsaw puzzles, clothing, old techie books, and believe it or not, shoes. (Hey, those can be hard to let go of. It took me fifteen years to find hiking boots that fit. If a miracle occurs, I don't want to spend another fifteen years in bad boots.)
interpretation adjustment
The hard part was that I loved my image of myself as a person who enjoys puzzles and owns many fun puzzles.
here's the thing. you don't really have to give up the label. if you deconstruct the sentence above, only one word changes: you remove "many." you are still a person who enjoy puzzles. your are still a person who owns fun puzzles.
just like i will still be an arthurian and celtic scholar with a library that includes important (and several hard-to-find) references on the topic. it's not a question of de-labelling, more a question of degree.
Re: interpretation adjustment
I still love the puzzles I do have... and I've cut down on the chaff. That's a great result. I bet you can achieve an analogous result with your library. If you keep the gems, then you'll be a scholar with a library that includes only the really good (important, rare, seminal, whatever) stuff. That's pretty cool.