Bitten by the Paper Tiger yet again.......

[poltr1]

This afternoon, I started looking for some paperwork I received in the mail last September. I've yet to find it.

It's not upstairs in the loft. It's not downstairs in the living room. It's not even in the portable safe. Where did it go?

As I looked around upstairs, I thought, "I'm in over my head. My files have overwhelmed me. The only way to fix this problem is to have a big bonfire."

The problem is, I'm not as ruthless as I need to be when it comes to paper files. I think, "I can use this someday", or "This can come in handy someday", or "I'll need this two weeks after I throw it out", or "This could be worth money".

Maybe I should just get some cardboard boxes, pile the papers in the boxes, and schlep them into storage. But I'm not sure that's an option anymore. It's so much easier to do that than it is to sort or even sift through the papers.

I need help.

Comments

[zorya-thinks.livejournal.com]

My ex has the same problem with getting rid of stuff. I told him recently that I would be happy to come down to Texas and help him declutter the house - with a flamethrower. ;-> (that wasn't mean, btw, it was a joke and he took it as such).

Seriously, what you need is the same thing I suggested to him - some supportive friends and a portable dumpster. Give them free rein to toss anything you haven't used in the past 3 years with the exception of legal papers such as old tax files.

For the things that might really be worth money, box them and take them down to the ebay consignment store. Let them deal with it and whatever you get is bonus. :-)

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

You *have* been making progress. But it's more a "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of view at the progress (aka too much detail work and not enough of the big picture). IMO, you need to let go of that tight control and trust that you *won't* need those things to feel secure.

Lucy's idea is a good one. Sounds like a great late-spring project. We could call it "The Liberation Operation."

[poltr1]

What you propose sounds too much like an intervention. I find that extremely scary and frightening.

If I had the room to do so, I'd do the sorting a la Clean Sweep: Keep, Sell, Toss. Except that Toss would be replaced with Recycle (paper), Freecycle, and Give Away.