Too much stuff, and not enough house.......

[poltr1]

I think I've reached critical mass. Even though I've gotten rid of about 12 boxes worth of paper files, there is still a lot more to be gone through and gotten rid of. mostly household goods and things that I've marked "surplus". But some of the stuff I just can't bring myself to throw out. I think the stuff can be useful to someone, so I hoard it instead. But I'd like to get some money for it, so it doesn't get donated to a local community service agency (e.g. Goodwill, Salvation Army, et al). At one extreme, I don't want to be the fool or sucker that gives away something of great value. At the other extreme, I don't want to be the greedy miser who demands top dollar for everything.

In the past, the solution was to get a bigger place. But that's not an option right now.

I could use several people to help me out one weekend and do the "Clean Sweep" approach: separate the items into "Keep", "Sell" (and/or Donate), and "Toss" (or Recycle) groups. We'd start with the garage, then the living room, and so on.

So, the big question remains: Why do I have so much stuff and what do I get out of having it?

The answer's rather complex.

I grew up in a family of 'stuff' people. Mom and Dad grew up in the Depression, so material things were valuable to them. Plus, mom was a collector. They even kept my old potty chair and gave it to me when I told them my daughter was potty training, even though we had a plastic potty and didn't need the old wooden potty.

I didn't have a lot of friends growing up (and still don't, in my opinion), so I'd pass the time at home, and invent things to do. That's how the collection of files was born.

I don't want to have to rely on other people. My neighbors won't mind if I borrow something, but if I borrow the same thing over and over again, they'll silently wonder why I'm too cheap to buy one for myself.

It's part of my subculture. Many science fiction fans are also collectors, whether it be books, comic books, or media.

It's my 'wall', my sanctuary. I sometimes feel that I'm like a mouse inside a warehouse, and people can't find me.

I hate to see things go to waste. If I can think of a reuse for something, I'll save it. Whether it be an old plastic spool (I can put tape on it), a plastic cup from the local convenience store (I can fill it up and freeze it to make an ice block for a thermal jug), or a empty can of wasabi peas (I'll get a bag of peas and refill the can), I'll hang on to it, even though it doesn't get used.

So why is it even an issue? I'm looking to pare down and simplify my life. I have an abundance for material goods, and maybe now is the time to share the wealth.

Comments

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Maybe you won't feel the same way but I found that "freecycle" is wonderful!!! There's the whole culture built up around it of people who like to keep stuff out of the landfill, pass stuff on, pare down, simplify... and just people who *need* stuff but can't really afford to go buy it (hence we got a new dresser for free!)

http://freecycle.org/

Check it out. It's really pretty cool. I've gotten rid of a vacuum cleaner that sort of worked but needed some fine tuning, and some baby stuff - we've gotten a bike (which was too rusty to really fix for us anyway - that's one risk you take but hey, you're no worse off!), and a dresser.

You see all *kinds* of stuff there so you can probably get rid of almost anything.

Good luck. Really, you have my sympathies. We've been wanting to pare down too and also have more space (or more permanent space anyway) and that's *after* we got rid of a TON of stuff when we went on the road. We still have way too much in storage. Oh well. One box at a time as it were.

[poltr1]

I already knew about freecycle, but thanks for mentioning it. And thank you for the encouragement! "One box at a time" is how I have to approach it; it's too overwhelming to look at the big picture.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Overwhelming, man I hear that! What really helps me is to set little goals like "just this corner of the bedroom" or "just the kitchen table" or "just these shelves" or "just the hall closet"... well you get the idea. The professional organizer my mom hired for us did that too and it REALLY helped. (I used to think a '3 box' goal or something like that would work but in fact I like seeing progress a lot better so I'd rather tackle a tiny *area* than just go through boxes one at a time (so hmm - maybe my mantra really isn't one box at a time but 'one cubic foot at a time?' ;-)

Also she would take before and after pix, which is great. It helps you realize that you have gotten a lot accomplished. It's hard to keep it up is what I find. Sigh. Especially with two little guys running around. Still, I try. :-)

[kliklikitty.livejournal.com]

You could also try listing your stuff at http://www.craigslist.org/ People can get things they need at a fraction of the cost and you can get a little bit of money for the things you have. They have seperate listings for just about every area of the USA.

[amazon-42.livejournal.com]

Please refer to the drawing I did for you while we were dating.

Thank you.

[poltr1]

If I can only find it.... :)

[amazon-42.livejournal.com]

Oh dear god.

You didn't put it in a BOX, did you???

AIGH!

[poltr1]

What do you have against boxes? You want it should be all in one big pile?

[amazon-42.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything angainst boxes, per se.

Just yours. :P

[shanaeden.livejournal.com]

I used to have the same problem. I still do in some ways, in that I'm just further down the path of "one box at a time".

And thus I must tell you, you WILL succeed. Slowly but surely you will find less and less things are necessary to keep.

I actually found that a certain script to say to myself when needing to get rid of stuff really works. It's a rote kind of recitation that includes things like, "If useful item X costs $10 or less at a store, then giving away or throwing a box full of them when I use it once a year is worth the space I will get.", "This fabric/craft item/yarn hasn't been used in years. If I really want to do X craft project again, I can garage sale/buy/beg/borrow for this stuff again.", "This information that I have filed is really interesting, but on looking through it I haven't thought about it in years and if I think about it again it's on the internet. (And I now have a file on my computer that contains key phrases or snippets of info I might want to know)"

So I just say stuff like that over and over while I'm getting rid of stuff (slowly but surely) and my mind is starting to believe it. The scripts become easier to say over time. And getting rid of the stuff does too.