Mild hoarding.

I've been trying to pare down my belongings. An uphill battle, believe me. I've always been very packratty and it drove my parents nuts when I was a child; it's funny they never see their own tendencies to do the same. Definitely, it's gotten to the point though that I feel emotionally suffocated by my material possessions. Things tied to negative memories—why am I compelled to keep those? Errr well, let's not pick too much at that one...

(I don't usually, but I added a jump break to this post. Click below for more...)


I must say, some good habits have developed since the last post about my clutter problems. I've switched to electronic statements on my accounts so the paper situation is a bit more manageable these days. Which is a good thing since my shredder is jammed up. Why don't I get rid of the shredder?! Good question! I try to be good about tossing receipts and stubs. Other things that I jot down, I try to get it straight into a dedicated notebook, or transfer over as soon as I can. I use my phone syncing abilities for planning and scheduling. Definitely, I am more organized than in the past. Always room for improvement, of course.

On a fairly regular basis, I get a donation bag from a nearby charity on my front door. It states a day in the near future that they will return to pick up any castoffs. I've begun taking part in those programs. I feel good about it too. I make a point of filling the bag and making the deadline. I usually dig through old clothing but I think next time I might focus on books, cds, and perhaps even DVDs. Ridding myself of a measurable quantity of items, feeling the heft of the bag, and the validation in getting the tax deductible receipt. I'll never donate enough to itemize on my filings, but I keep those receipts near the front door to remember exactly how much I've donated—it keeps me motivated and I don't count it as paper clutter. I also have an area near the front door where I accumulate things for the next drive. It doesn't look very tidy, but ultimately things will be better. Or that's what I tell myself anyway.

They say you should develop a habit of "one in, one out." Ridding yourself of something if you desire to bring a new thing into your home. In theory, I like to get rid of two or more things for every new acquisition, but doesn't really work out in practice.

And practice is what it takes. Overthinking is the enemy here and it's best to not let your guard down. Always think about what you can give away or trash. Clothes that look hopelessly out of date or are just plain not-flattering need to go. What would that leave me with though? Not much. Good books should be donated and shitty ones should be recycled or thrown away.* I've only seen one episode of Hoarders and it was enough to haunt me. I think of it whenever I get frustrated with cleaning out.

Aipohaku's method is elegant and simple. Read her blog post here. I've had to institute a policy to avoid looking at other people's Flickrs that catalog their discarded items because I feel inclined to "save" their beloved treasures. I should stop thrifting too, but this marks the second weekend in a row that I've hit up a Goodwill store. More on that with photos coming soon.


* This book philosophy came from an article I read online years ago. I couldn't even begin to think about what site it published on. I deeply believe in it. Books with crappy ideas should not be in circulation.