I'm trying to clean up my life. Really.
Not that it's dirty. But it's packed.
I'm not a hoarder like the ones you see on television. But I save things. It's hard to let go.
I know I'm not alone.
We are a nation of hoarders. It's just that everyone has their own degree.
Why do we attach ourselves to certain things?
Fear of loss, comfort, desperation, laziness, compulsion...I think these all have a hand.
We are a nation that affixes our happiness to our possessions.
For me, the number one reason is sentimentality. For example, I find it so hard to get rid of anything remotely connected to my children. Today I went through a basket of stuffed animals and asked my son Casey which ones he wanted to keep. Whenever he said to toss one, I'd say something like, "But I bought this giraffe for you when you were sick. See its big, sad eyes?"
And Casey would say, "I don't remember, Mom. Just ditch it."
It's like I don't want to lose the memory.
My older son is fantastic at letting go of things. He is a neat freak, and he knows the trick is to not let anything lay around.
I want to be like that. As a matter of fact, I'm not letting anything new accumulate. But the old stuff is hard to get rid of.
I read a great tip in a magazine: Take a picture of the things you love before you get rid of them. I'll probably snap a shot of the giraffe before he goes bye-bye.
Another huge problem I have is papers. First of all, there are manuscripts. I certainly don't need them - I have them on the computer! But you try dumping your manuscript in the trash. It's like thowing your baby away.
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| Great minds think alike: Albert Einstein also had a cluttered workspace! |
Then, I have critiques. I already went over them, but I like to keep the comments "just in case." I also like reading the compliments.
I have notebooks filled with notes from writing conferences, but never look at again.
I have piles of research for my American Revolution books. (This I hope to box up and put in the attic.)
I have receipts and statements...I have Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons up the wazoo...all these things I know I need to file, but God help me, I don't want to take the time to!!!
I have mugs from everywhere I've ever been. I don't use them - I display them.
I have soooo many pictures...It would probably take a solid year to but them in albums (I went through a scrapbooking phase, and have two completed pages, and all the materials.)
I have THINGS...little things that have captured my interest, or mean something to me.
I have my kids' art work from all the years gone by...Including things far from original or creative. Like a foam plaque with a leprechaun, rainbow and pot of gold that one of my kids glued together.
Oh, and I have boxes...lots of decorative boxes and bins to organize things in...and they are EMPTY!!!
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| I also have many books - far more than I've ever read!!! |
All this, even though I've been cleaning out. I just don't know how I'll ever get done with it all, because I can't devote my life to cleaning up my prior messes.
I'm trying to do a little each day.
And I am proud to have halted the madness.
It feels so cruel to get rid of things, but now I view it as survival of the fittest. It's me, or them.
A cluttered life is an imprisoned one.
I deserve to be free.
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