I Have A Hard Time Letting Go
Obviously.
I kid myself that it's just the "collector" instinct in me. But I know deep down it's not. It's more.
I have to admit it's a definite problem when:
1) I have two file cabinets full of utility bills, receipts, tax returns and instruction booklets from every gadget we've acquired, from the past 26 years. Cabinets so full in fact, that I can barely open the drawers anymore.
2) I have T-shirts from the 70's (and yes, some that I still wear).
3) I still own Betamax tapes... even though I don't have anything to play them on.
4) Ditto for vinyl record albums.
5) Ditto again for 35mm slides from my 1977 school trip to Europe.
6) I keep all my hobby magazines just in case I want to read them again. Only problem is, if I ever want to attempt those projects years from now, the supplies required will have been long obsolete.
7) We still have 4 VCRs (two of which ARE Betamaxes) and a microwave in our garage; all broken beyond repair, of course... but still not disposed of.
8) Oh, there is more; a lot more, but now I'm just too embarrassed to list them all. Soon you'll think I am the reincarnation of Fred Sanford.
Sure, I can place part of the blame on hubby; he's even worse than me (believe it or not) for hanging onto useless stuff from the past; a quirk I am reminded of every time I pass his workbench. There's his old clock radio, collecting dust. The one that gave up the ghost decades ago, its little number flaps stuck on 7:12 forever...
I need to resist the temptation of keeping too much crap around; and I'm working on it. Baby steps.
Last week we said goodbye to our broken fridge and freezer. Yesterday it was our ugly 1980 couch. To be honest, I very nearly had second (and third) thoughts about finally saying goodbye... but the garbage men were already called and I don't think I could have dragged that thing back into the garage, gliding it over the slippery snow and ice by myself.
So I had to, even though it was hard... to just let go.
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14 People would rather be commenting:
ooooh N3S is like this. He weeps when it is time to get rid of old winter coats, where the stuffing coming out and the zip is broken!
okkkkkkkk I am sorry but I am sooooo laughing at this. My gnome has the same problem and would fill our house with crap if I let him. Maybe you could get the slides transferred to a CD so you could get rid of them? lol
Keep taking those baby steps...we are proud of ya and we know you can do it...
Get tough on yourself, Maureen, and get rid of that stuff, Think of having to clean all of that out some day when you are old and having to move to a retirement home. Your kids won't appreciate that very much. Simplify your life! It also unclutters your mind and makes the load lighter to carry.
Sounds like you need a third person intervention to help you get rid of the useless clutter. I say this because I once had someone help me. I collected old magazines and clothes and items I never even looked at any more and couldn't part with them. So a friend came in and would just start tossing things and if I protested I had to convince her that I had used the item in the last two years or had a purpose in mind for it. I think I could only save three things.
Awww Maureen.
When we moved onto our first boat, we had no choice but to let a huge amount of stuff go. It was incredibly difficult. I am always of the thought that if I get rid of something, I know later I will find a use for it LOL.
Baby steps definitely in order...or are you saving them to make a fortune on eBay one day? :)
I throw away or donate everything. But, I believe you are the female version of my hubby. He has a similar list!!! We need to get you guys into treatment....maybe we could great a joint rate? hehe. =P
The next time my dear husband complains about the clutter and "stuff" I'm showing him this post!!
Although he did complement me on putting all the baby's stuff away without making the house look...cluttery.
Wow...my hubby is the same and I am so unorganized so we do not make a good pair...I finally convinced him he would never wear that Member's Only jacket or those parachute pants again.
This is an ongoing American addiction of sorts....using the garage to store stuff that isn't a car. I finally bit the bullet about 10 years ago and said enough is enough. I went through the whole hose and ANYTHING that I hadn't used in 6 months (or was likely to use in 6 months) was thrown away. Needless to say it took me about month to do all this. The end result....a lot more space, and a surprising sense of freedom and liberation. In the end we are measured by what we DO, not what we collect.
That poor cold couch. Look at how lonely it looks out there....I am just digging the knife in, aren't I?
No, I am proud of you. Letting go of those things is a good thing. It is good to reminisce but that is why there are pictures! They take up far less space.
When was the last time you moved? Moving (and moving 9 times in 10 years like we did) will not only get rid of your inner pack rat, but it will take it out behind the barn and shoot it.
DJ: Hopefully N3S will grow out of this before he gets as bad as me. Fingers crossed for you.
Canadian Flake: Awww... thanks. And yes, that's a great idea to get those slides transferred. I'll have to look into it!
Sweet Irene: You are exactly right.... what I have been thinking about lately. I certainly don't want to burden my only child with all our crap.
VP: Great story; I do need that team from TV's Clean Sweep!
Boatwoman: That's what I think; that if I get rid of it, somehow I'll then need it...
Toners: Probably a bit of both, to be honest. There are two categories; stuff that needs to be chucked, and things that need to be sold.
Ann(ie): Sounds like a plan. We need a support group.
CGG: Just wait till baby becomes child, then teen. I have more stuff for daughter than for the two of us; I kept way too much of her stuff too.
Whatevergirl: Hah! Well, my T shirts may still be wearable compared to parachute pants!
Lotus07: Very true. Can't remember the last time I actually parked the van INSIDE the garage.
Melinda: LOL!! Nooooo! Poor couch; aw, well, it had a good long life.
Frogster: Haven't moved in 20 years, which yes, would have solved this problem many years ago if we had to pack it all up and haul it to a new place.
Unfortunately, the major problem with disposing of some of these things now is that you simply cannot take them to the dump or get them picked up anymore. Many electrical items (VCRs, Microwave) has to be disposed of in a "green" way so I have to contact yet another agency to arrange what to do. Which is good, but just another thing on my To Do list.
You should let me hang out at your house!! I don't keep almost ANYTHING unless it happens that someone is USING the object WHILE I am on a cleaning spree. :-)
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