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Post by butterflyrider on Aug 13, 2008 3:20:27 GMT -5
Hello. Today they took the dumpster away and I am proud to say it was full. I threw everything out, thousands of dollars of stuff. I have my rooms back again. But I miss my stuff.
For over 20 years I "collected" stuff. I wanted to be a teacher and I started saving anything and everything I thought I might ever use or need. My favorite place to shop was the teacher store in town. I have been a substitute teacher for 18 years and everyday brought home worksheets, books, workbooks, etc. I had two bedrooms upstairs where I kept everything. One was my bedroom, and last night I slept in a clean room for the first time in years.
I am feeling very anxious and scared that I will start hoarding things again.
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Post by skitter on Aug 13, 2008 5:15:18 GMT -5
Hi butterflyrider,
I have so much respect for what you have done. It might help to remember that you have everything you need right there in your head. When your mind is free and uncluttered you will look to what you know to create the right material for the situation at hand. You will not be wasting hours looking for that one perfect work sheet that you know you have there somewhere. You will also be getting the sleep you need. Kudos to you. You have really accomplished a miracle. I know how hard that must have been.
Cheers, skitter
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Post by moggyfan on Aug 13, 2008 9:36:26 GMT -5
Hi butterflyrider, I've been an English teacher for decades (longer than most people have been alive,  ). I too suffered from saving just about everything I thought might remotely be useful "someday" for some hypothetical future class. So I do understand. But google has been my salvation! Over the past 5 years or so, I have discovered that there is an almost infinite supply of teacher materials (lesson plans, activities, etc. etc.) available on the web, so I no longer have to clutter my life up with that stuff. The Internet has become my my filing cabinet--with a click to bookmark a site, I can have the stuff I need or want at my fingertips with nary a box or bag in sight. Congratulations on your full dumpster :-) I'm willing to wager you'll not miss all that stuff for long. |
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Post by crazycatlady on Aug 13, 2008 11:01:53 GMT -5
Excellent, ButterflyRider! How wonderful to remove a dumpster full of stuff from your home, and to reclaim your bedroom!  Fabulous!
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Post by AnnieOkie on Aug 13, 2008 14:05:12 GMT -5
Kudos to you!! What a relief it must be to get rid of all that stuff. Recognizing that it might be easy to slide back into the previous behavior is a good thing. I think being here will help you with that. There are a great bunch of people here with all kinds of good advice or a hug or a "WTG" whenever you need it. Welcome!  |
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Post by heylady1 on Aug 13, 2008 14:09:30 GMT -5
 Butterflyrider!!!  Good for you on getting all that stuff out of your house, that must have been so hard but you did it!!! Oh, and WELCOME!! 
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Post by pegasus48 on Aug 13, 2008 18:24:09 GMT -5
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Post by butterflyrider on Aug 13, 2008 23:57:12 GMT -5
Thank you all for the very warm welcome. I think renting the dumpster was the best $230 I ever spent. I told the guy from the waste company that if they couldn't put it between the houses under the upstairs window, I didn't want it, and my goodness, they got it in there. The thing was 8ft wide, 11 ft long and 4 ft deep. There was no way physically I could have carried all that mess down the stairs, so I just tossed it out the window. I talked to my neighbor before and made sure it was okay to put the dumpster between our houses and he didn't have a problem with it. I just started picking up boxes and throwing them out the window. Some of them I never looked it, I figured if I haven't needed it in 20 years, I didn't need it anymore. I learned quickly that papers and cardboard don't fall as nice as other things and I would have to go outside everyday after and do dumpster cleanup and pick up the stuff that didn't make it in there... . I couldn't have done it without my mother's help. She kept me on track and gave me lots of encouragement. My brother came over and took down a ceiling fan he wanted and a window air conditioner that had been sitting at the foot of my bed for years. I asked him to put a light back up in my ceiling and he said sure, so after I found it (buried in my closet, I knew it was somewhere) I asked him to come put it up. I've asked him for three days and he hasn't shown up yet, so tonight I got on the internet and looked up how to put it up, and I did it, all by myself. I would have never attempted it a few weeks ago. Today I cleaned up here a bit, dusting things off, moving some furniture around. I also washed five loads of clothes, and threw a bunch of clothes away. I'm changing, and I think I like it........ Take care, everyone. |
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Post by AnnieOkie on Aug 14, 2008 8:26:41 GMT -5
You put a light up by yourself!! That is awesome!! I'm sure that gave you a great sense of accomplishment. We can do so many things we think we can't do!! So good to hear! |
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Post by zinnia on Aug 15, 2008 20:40:05 GMT -5
Congrats on the dumpster!
Welcome!
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