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Post by allthethings on Jun 1, 2023 9:43:26 GMT -5
Hi everyone! I'm brand new to the forum, after stumbling across a thread by paperpiler from 2009 ( Linked Here)!! 😲 It resonated so much with me, and I thought to reply... but being an unregistered visitor + so many years after the post was written, I thought it best to sign up for the forum instead. 😅 I've had So Many Things (hence the username) get moved around in boxes over the years, & never taken the time to really go through everything... until now. For whatever reason, 3 weeks ago, my parents announced they were coming up for my birthday (this past Mon., Memorial Day, May 29). This always spurs me to go into a tidying frenzy, but for some reason, this time it created an every larger ambition to finally get the whole house organized! [They ended up having to cancel the trip, but the momentum created by the intention is still going!] I spent a solid 2 weeks putting things in bags, bins, etc., & moving those from room to room, to & from the garage, etc. We tossed the old couch & loveseat that were just collecting dust & taking up space; we gave away the stack washer/dryer we'd had in our previous apartment (& had been meaning to sell for years, but never got around to it). We put a box of "garage sale" items out got free/curb alert, too. We bought a number of garage "baker's racks" or plastic tiers to store things on. 🚫🛋📦🚫 📦📦📦🔀🔃 I went through the boxes in the garage and sorted things, shuffling items and boxes around... it's like that little plastic number game that we got as party favors as kids -- where you have numbers #1-15 on tiles in a little square frame, & you've got to slide them around to try to get them in the right order. It was just like that, but on a much larger scale! 📦🔄📦🔄📦🔄 I've made SO much progress, but also created so much more chaos in the process, as often happens! There are boxes half-sorted, or with items I'm not sure what to do with. There are bags of clothes that I'm just not ready to decide what to do with yet (along with many others that I've decided to sell or donate, etc.). The day before my parents were slated to travel, they had to cancel the trip. I spent a couple days allowing my exhausted and aching body to rest & recover, as well as try to process the mix of emotions created by all of this! 🥱😩😴 Since then, I've been trying to keep the momentum going, although it's admittedly a bit harder now that there's no actual "deadline." We bought several pieces of furniture (on sale) at Ikea over the Memorial Day weekend, & I got some cheap bins from the dollar store to help with smaller sorting tasks. I'm trying to keep going & using the excitement & energy from the success so far to propel further organization... but it's hard. I'm slowing down, & can feel myself wanting to settle back in. Anyway, I could go on further about my specific collections, hoarding challenges, tendencies, etc., but this post has become a novel already... I just want to introduce myself and say hi. I'm hoping the June & 2023 decluttering challenges with help motivate me to keep going... and I'm hoping I can find others who have similar types of hoarding issues to talk to & maybe explore how & why I do the things I do! |
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Post by goldenthreads on Jun 1, 2023 9:57:21 GMT -5
Welcome, allthethings! You'll find support here. You did a good job getting rid of the big things and letting stuff go through curbside freebies. Looking forward to hearing more from you.  |
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Post by allthethings on Jun 1, 2023 10:29:12 GMT -5
Thanks, goldenthreads! It's nice to meet you, & I appreciate the friendly welcome! It's been a 3+ year roadblock, so I'm glad I was able to tackle that initial push! Our house is just too small, & we've just got too much stuff! I was stuck, feeling like I was playing the # game, but without the empty square needed to slide things around. I had an epiphany that if we got rid of the couches, we'd empty up a spot, & sure enough, it worked! I'm embarrassed at how easy of a solution it was, & that it took me 3+ years to reach it! 😅 I'm getting into the weeds now, though, tackling my problem areas -- namely, paper (& books. I'll include books, b/c I can't get rid of them!). Whenever I've moved, I always created "Junk Boxes" -- a box where I'd throw all the mail, bills, & misc. paper clutter that I couldn't figure out what to do with in the midst of trying to move. These have accumulated with each move I've made, and whenever I've tried to go through a "junk box" in the past, I'd just get overwhelmed and shut down... so I avoided them, and they've moved from place to place! For some reason, this time around, I've been able to handle going through them (- mostly. A few breakdowns, over vet records & such from my beloved, decreased furbaby)!! I don't know what's changed, but I've had few problems throwing out 5-10 year-old circular ads, bill statements, etc.! I let myself throw newspapers into 1 box, memorabilia & sentimental misc. that I'm not ready to part with into a 2nd box... I try not to look at any of that too much while sorting... The only thing I've really struggled with are the magazines. I did manage to filter out a small few that I was willing to recycle. But the others, well... They're a challenge! Every time I've moved, I've forced myself to go through my magazine boxes & narrow the pile. I'm down to only ~2 boxes now, so I think that's a lot better than it could be! 😅😅😅 Coming face-to-face with my clutter, though, has forced me to be able to admit that I do have a paper clutter problem! 😬🫣 [No one close to me is surprised, of course,  !] I also have issues keeping random things that I can see uses for -- craft organization using pill bottles, for example, leads to hoarding pill bottles. I think I just hate wastefulness, & paired with a knack for "McGuyver" resourcefulness, I see potential for things that probably should just be tossed sometimes! I guess it's less about hoarding the Thing, & more about Intention behind the Thing. 🤔 This time, I just need to ACTUALLY organize the things and use those supplies... That, & the paper/magazine/book clutter ties in with information-hoarding, which I've found I do digitally as well! 🤦🏻♀️😅 Its wild how these things take on a life of their own...!!! |
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Post by goldenthreads on Jun 1, 2023 10:46:42 GMT -5
I also have boxes and boxes of papers, including from moves up to 30 years ago.
It's good that you've been sorting. That way when you open something, you'll know what category you're dealing with that day, and you've also had the chance to casually get rid of obvious junk.
I have been able to get rid of of magazine articles and magazines when I asked myself what use I would put them to in the near future. So there went the articles pertaining to an old career, and to gardening in a climate I no longer live in.
But I get stuck when I think that I can't get rid of something because it's history. Never mind that neither I nor my heirs will never really need to see my bank statements from 1987!
The main thing that's worked for me is, before I open a box, to have rules about what I will keep and what I will toss. I did in fact get rid of decades of bank statements by deciding ahead of time that they would go. I do give myself permission to "refile" into another box things that are just too hard to decide about. My thought here is just to keep the momentum going and not slow down too much as I dither.
That said, I'm not a great example of practicing what I preach, but I"m working on it.
I hear you on things that could be useful. Luckily, I'm not a crafter, or I know I'd have even more stuff!
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Post by allthethings on Jun 1, 2023 11:06:42 GMT -5
I have been able to get rid of of magazine articles and magazines when I asked myself what use I would put them to in the near future. So there went the articles pertaining to an old career, and to gardening in a climate I no longer live in. But I get stuck when I think that I can't get rid of something because it's history. Never mind that neither I nor my heirs will never really need to see my bank statements from 1987! It's true... that's where my information-hoarding works against me. Even if it's unlikely, I might need it again, even if it's just to share with someone else who it applies to! 😅 I also struggle with the decades-old pay stubs & bank statements. Also health EOBs, etc. 🤦🏻♀️🙄 For things like that, I find it's best to tackle them when I get really worked up & disgusted with all the pile up... it's a rare mood, but when I go into "F*** It Mode," as I call it, I'm more impulsive and likely to just toss those things!! 😅 That's not a bad idea - having rules beforehand. I suspect it might lead to guilt if I can't stick with it, though, and that'll end up working against me. But yeah, I'll absolutely go into it & tell myself that I'm NOT going to keep any old receipts, for example (& so many are blank from age now anyway!) 🫣🤣 That's exactly what I do with sorting the sentimental stuff -- no looking & getting bogged down in it. It goes in another box as blindly as I can, so I keep going! 😅 So much of all of this, though, seems to be about capitalizing on the right mood. I wish I were in the more productive, anti-clutter moods more often -- or at least knew how to generate those moods!! 😬😅 YES. I am a crafter. It is an ordeal. 😅😳💯 Nevermind the plethora of craft supplies for any number of craft projects -- that's its own challenge! -- but the potential use of everyday things to facilitate art is a maddening struggle! I might need that piece of ribbon, after all, darnit! 🤣😳🤦🏻♀️ All in time, though. I have such grand plans of an organized craft area some day! 🤞🏻😅 I'm getting there slowly, with the new furniture & actually sorting things (you know, Craft A goes in a tote with Craft A, not in that big box that has a hodgepodge of crafts A-Z thrown all together!). I'm currently trying to go through all my little "squirrel holes" in the house where I've stashed random craft things, so that those can get organized in with the rest too. That's a massive undertaking. I have a natural knack for squirreling away things I know I probably shouldn't collect more of (hence random boxes of magazines... but under a layer of clothes so they don't LOOK like magazine boxes! 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️). 🐿
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Post by goldenthreads on Jun 1, 2023 11:27:20 GMT -5
Moods. Yep! Do you ever use a timer? Lots of people here and elsewhere will set a timer for, say, 5-15 minutes and give themselves permission to quit after that. It seems like a drop in the ocean, but the dailiness of it can work to get you in a matter-of-fact frame of mind for some short, less emotional sprints.
It would be so useful to switch our brains to Robot Mode every once in a while.
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Post by allthethings on Jun 1, 2023 14:14:25 GMT -5
Yeah, I've tried that, though I know I'm trying to trick myself, so I'll either feel bad that I wasn't very productive (despite giving myself permission to quit 🤦🏻♀️) or get into it & do more than the short time (that's the ideal outcome, though it's rare)! 😝
My moods are stubborn, & it's hard to shake off depression enough to get motivated when the energy just isn't there.
That said, I'm grateful for times like the current, when I've got the oomph to tackle it! 🎉
The past few hours, I've been tracking down craft supplies & misc. from all over the house & trying to sort it all into categories/bins.
... I'm not sure why I have random little containers that seem to be places for things like random coins, keychains, old phone cases, buttons & pins, & other "tiny treasures"! 🤦🏻♀️🤣
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Post by desposito on Jun 1, 2023 20:02:01 GMT -5
Hi allthethings, welcome!
It sounds like you've done amazing work so far, and yes, the momentum kind of slows down as you get rid of the easier things and are faced with more and more hard decisions. But decluttering is a long-term project and joining here is a great step because just knowing other people are dealing with the same thing helps you keep going.
There are a lot of working threads here so join in wherever you want, and keep posting--even when you slow down, posting keeps decluttering at the front of your mind and you will keep working at it little by little!
Diane
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Post by def6 on Jun 2, 2023 9:55:37 GMT -5
Welcome allthethings We have so many similarities in that I become a "fierce warrior" when someone even hints that they will be visiting. I think I will be at this cleaning and decluttering thing from now until eternity. I have learned that my "all or nothing" side of me has not served me well. Every day that I can clean in a reasonable manner and include getting rid of even 1 thing everyday....Well for me that is a good day. |
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Post by joyinvirginia on Jun 2, 2023 15:05:33 GMT -5
Welcome allthethings! Sounds like you have a good plan, and a great start! You might think about starting a blog, or moving this thread to members only area. Admins could help with that if it's something you might want to do.
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