Kick Clutter to the Curb

Pack-rat.

That's something I've heard, and used, all my life to describe the inherited clutter traits from my mother. See that picture on the right? That was the garage at my parent's house and I'm glad I took a picture of it. Now, whenever I feel overwhelmed with my stuff, I look at this picture, mentally go back into that garage, and feel better about our situation.

A specialty of mine is the 'what if I need that one day?' thought process I go through when trying to get rid of my crap (don't even get me started on 'I'll fit into that one day'). I always seem to amass a smorgasbord of just stuff from the parents, or grandmas, or from people who are giving something away for free. Who can resist free, anyway? Not this girl.

I am always going through my stuff and trying to get rid of something, ANYTHING! I hate the feeling of knowing I have all this stuff in boxes that isn't useful in any way but insists on sticking around, year after year. Mostly, the things I lug around with me are purely sentimental items from my past. But it's ironic because I never see these things and am not reminded of the precious memory until I go through all my boxes again for the 6th time this year, solely for the purpose of donating unused clutter. Until I came across a quote that really stuck it to me and my clutter.

“Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head" -Esther Lederer

It's not exactly aimed at clutter, more at people, but it still spoke to me. I'm letting the burden of all this stuff live rent-free in my head. Let's not mention the 5 years it wasn't living rent-free in a storage shed. I realized I didn't want to drag all this around with us anymore. It exerted too much energy and money we didn't have for a whole lotta nothing in return. My problem also stems from my poor memory, so I become afraid I would forget something I wanted to remember if I got rid of the item(s) which evoked the memory. Not good.

I have read (and reread) lots of articles with great tips and tricks for dealing with the psychological part of clutter, or 'emotional clutter'. Mostly on Pinterest. Oh, I love Pinterest. But, I digress.. that's a post for another day. Basically, by saying 'what if I need this later?' you're putting value on that item in your head. The emotional clutter that ties directly into the fear of losing a connection to a loved one or a special memory is a dangerous one too. Would Great Aunt Millie really want you keeping her huge China hutch in your home just because it was something she used all her life and then passed on to you? Especially if it causes more pain than happiness? Chances are, if she could be here now she would say something like 'Oh heavens no child, you don't even own any China, give it to someone who can use it.' It's pointless to force yourself to keep or use something just because that something holds significance. Notice I said 'force yourself to use it'. Keep it only if you're really, really going to put it to good use or if it truly benefits/enhances your life. Take a realistic approach and don't kid yourself.

There's another trick I really like that deals with weeding out your closet. Take all of hangers and turn them the other way and as you use them turn the hangers back the way they were. Anything left after 3 months, 6 months, 2 weeks, whatever period of time you feel is acceptable for your life, get rid of it! Donate, pass to a friend, or have a garage sale. I haven't had a chance to try this one out in full-scale mode, but once I tackle my garage the closet is surely next.

Now I am all too familiar with the fact that all these nifty tips and tricks are easier said than done... it took me 4 years to finally get on the track to correcting my clutter mentality. Just release yourself from the burden of carrying around unnecessary items you let live rent-free in your head; your children and future grandchildren will thank you for it. I have a big goal for myself in the coming weeks, to once and for all go through those sentimental things that do not enhance my life and give them to someone who can really use them. Of course, I will be documenting everything I get rid of with, you guessed it, my trusty camera. Because I can zip photos, I can't zip 10 boxes of papers.