Another Hour of the Wolf.....

[poltr1]

....in which I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.

A large part of it is my current job and money situation.


The other part is how I'm going to dig myself out from under the mountain of clutter I've built for myself. I want to take the paper files and cardboard I've accumulated over the years, and take them to the dump for recycling, instead of throwing it all in the trash. But I'd need a pickup truck to do that. (Renting one isn't an option for me right now.)

Why did I save the paper? Because in the late 70s/early 80s, filing became my hobby. I liked saving newspaper clippings and things I wanted to read again or have on hand. Knowing that I have certain things on hand is like a security blanket for me. But the volume I now have is unmanageable, and with a child to raise, I no longer have the time for this pastime-turned-obsession.

I saved (and trash-picked) cardboard boxes because I thought they could be re-used. And some of them, I did. But now it's time to collapse the ones that haven't already been collapsed and get rid of them as quickly as possible, so I can have more room in my garage. I thought about using the local freecycle list, but the ones who don't get the digest and are on broadband seem to get most of the goods, and there are some logistic problems I see with distribution, such as having a dry place to store them (other than a garage or offsite storage).

I look around the condo and wonder, "If I had to sell, I don't think people would buy this because of all the clutter inside the house."

But then, I think of the people who lost their belongings to natural disasters, like tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and fire. These people are able to move on with their lives. Why can't I? Why won't I?

I know that I can't do this myself, and that I need help.

Comments

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Reading you is like listening to the voices in my head. The only difference is I know I'm putting things off because of school. Come May 1st, I suspect I'll be sounding much like you. There's a lot of clutter here that has to go as well.
-- Dagonell

[poltr1]

I just hope you don't have the same money woes as me.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

If you have empty boxes in good condition, there are probably plenty of people who are moving and would love to have them.

I have a lot of clutter, but my problem is not so much wanting to keep things I really don't need as just not being able to get the energy together to clean things up. If I start with a clean house, it's too easy to leave a pile here and not put something away there "because I'm in a hurry" or "I'm too tired to deal with it now", and pretty soon I have such a big mess that it demoralizes me and I can't make myself start.

[filkergem.livejournal.com]

Our Freecycle list lets the person offering the item set any terms he or she desires for choosing the recipient. A number of folks have taken to saying "We'll not pick a recipient for about a day to let those with slow connections have a chance", and others have requested interesting stories, or reasons why the item should go to particular people, so you can easily avoid the inequity if you choose to. Unless your list is draconian.

[poltr1]

We have the same rule, except that too many people on the list do "first come, first served" with their goods. I get the digest, and it's disheartening to see an Offer post and a Taken post in the same digest.

Due to the number of boxes, I want to be able to pick multiple recipients, and due to the number of mixed sizes (most are app. 9 x 12 x 4 but some aren't), I want people to be able to pick and choose. Using Freecycle protocols, the logistics are a nightmare, unless I pick a time window where I know I will be home for freecyclers to come and get 'em.

I can help

[zorya-thinks.livejournal.com]

One of our vehicles is a Honda Element. I can borrow it from hubby next week and help you haul paper trash to the dump if you would like. Send me an e-mail and we can talk about it.

Lucy