Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Junk

Have you ever seen that show Hoarders?  I have, and I know that these people have a real mental illness, but I use it as a reminder of what could happen if I don't toss stuff.

I'm not a hoarder.  I don't think I'm really a pack rat either.  My problem is that I keep stuff because "I might need/want it some day", but then 2 years later I look at it and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

I used to do this with old notes from highschool and college.  I might "need" my notes from 10th grade history, in case I had a 10th grade history test I needed to take 3 years later.  I also used to do this with my son's school work thinking wouldn't it be nice to have this little memory of when he was in kindergarten and wrote his 'e's backwards.  Do you know how much crap kids bring home from school?  I tossed a lot of things, but it still piles up before I start grabbing handfuls of papers and throwing them in the trash.  I have enough drawings of sharks, thank you very much.

Most recently it was moving house.  I moved into a 3 bedroom house nearly 2 years ago.  I only needed 2 of those bedrooms so I used the 3rd room for storage.  Well, my mother was coming to visit so I had to clear out the room.  So I'm going through these boxes that have been locked in a room for 2 years and I came to the realization that if I haven't seen it this long, I obviously don't need it.  Some of this stuff has been in boxes and storage bins for 4 or more years. 

So what did I do with all my junk?  I consolidated and hid it all in various closets around the house.  Sure I got rid of some old childeren's dvds and a few board games, but the majority of it I kept.  What I'm going to do with scraps of paper, nick nacks I don't even like anymore, half finished crochet projects, two (that's 2) Christmas trees and books that I have no desire to read again (but I might want to read them again-but I know I won't), I don't know, but I might need/want them sometime in the future.

8 comments:

  1. Haha. I'm a real "throw away-er" - can't stand to have "stuff" that I know I will never use or need. That being said, I would never want anyone to look under my bed !

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  2. I'm exactly the same, I don't like throwing things away just in case I'll find a use for it in the future. I'm clearing my bedroom out at the minute and it's taking so long, because I don't like throwing things out!

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  3. Hello, Nifer! LoL, I'm not like this at all. My mom is a minimalist, so I grew up knowing how to purge things and not having any kind of emotional attachment to things. When I bring something new into my home, such as a shirt or a book, then I get rid of a shirt and book. That way I don't accumulate stuff I'm no longer using or want! Sure, sometimes I find it hard to get rid of something (especially books!). But it's easier to let go of things when I donate to the library, charities, or take it to recycling. When I know I'm helping others or the environment, it feels a lot better!

    Hope you're having a great week and happy A to Z!!

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    1. I know that's a logical way of dealing with the problem, but I'm not the most logical of people :D

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  5. I'm like you and use Hoarders as a reminder to myself to throw out or donate as much as I can each year! My biggest problem is mail! Good lord mail piles up and then I don't know which bill statements I should keep or what should be shredded and what can just get tossed. I've got most of my bill as emails now so that helps a bit! But I'm sure I've got boxes out in storage from years ago all full of mail!

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  6. Bwaha. I'm so like that. But, but I might need it one day! I'm terrible about the paperwork and honestly have no idea why I hang onto it for so darn long. I knew this lady a long time ago. She was older and had a ton of stuff. When her kids would complain she'd always tell them "i like my clutta!" Always loved that.

    Anna@ Herding Cats & Burning Soup

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  7. I'm a horrible hoarder - mostly because I'm too lazy to sort through all my stuff.

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