I am overwhelmed by clutter. The feeling has been building, but it is reaching crisis level and I am fixing to do something about it… namely freecycle, ebay, garage sale (Mary is having one), donate, etc. So, if there is anything I have that you want, please let me know, just in case. Or would it be easier if i post or email lists of anything I think anyone might want?
It’s so hard getting rid of excess. I am down to things I really like or still have good intentions for or things that I remember how much I paid for or how long I wanted. There are 2 sets of dishes, for example. I had long wanted multiple sets of dishes. I craved variety. Now that I have them, though, I also have my Fiesta which I love and always use, and I never wish for something different, perhaps because of the variety of colors. So I could easily get rid of the 2 extra sets… only I remember wanting them, remember buying them a piece at a time, on ebay, remember what I paid, which was always on the low end of what they were bringing, but, still, there is a certain amount of money involved. I checked ebay. One set I might be able to sell, particularly if I sold it in pieces, but that is the set that has a place in the china cabinet and I don’t really need to find a home for right now. The other set is taking up space I could use. I found lots of it for sale on ebay, but when I checked the completed auctions, Not one single piece had sold. What would be the point of photographing and writing descriptions and paying selling fees? It is a nice set… What do I do with the blasted thing?
Sigh…. The frustrating thing is that there are still things I want. I am not used to getting what I want, not wanting it any more, getting rid if it, and then getting what I want now. I know that is what some people do all the time, but not me. This is weird for me… wasteful.
But my house is too full. When everything is put away, it is ok… difficult to manage because everything that is put away is put together like a jigsaw puzzle, but at least I do not feel overwhelmed. But when things are out, it is difficult to think. Right now, the sewing room is still in the process of being put back together and becomes chaotic very quickly. We have all the Christmas stuff out. To top that off, we came home from Bill and Eliane’s with the food they gifted us with and I cannot find room for it in the cabinet. I am so overwhelmed that when I took a nap I dreamed a frantic restless dream about it (well not about it, but about something else overwhelming that clearly represented my clutter).
I wish it wasn’t so hard to part with things. I wish I could know for sure that when i Freecycled something, it would go to someone who would value and care for it. I don’t want my dishes to go to someone who says, “Oh, we could always use more dishes,” and then lets them be broken and feeds the dog in them.
I am so happy we have Christmas wish lists so we can be sure what we give is not going to instantly become excess clutter.
I have cleaned out all the Thibgs that are not dear to me on some way around here. So now when I get the urge to clean out and make room it gets really hard. Usually it means I start by looking at everything, pausing a few times, and coming to the conclusion that there really isn’t anything to be tossed. Which usually leaves me feeling slightly annoyed and gets me one step closer to getting rid of the things that are dear to me.
My challenge is always the paper.
I can find places for the things … well, living with Kevin was a 12-year intensive in weeding things out. There’s bedroom stuff, craft stuff, kitchen stuff, and books. I can find places for all that. Of course, living with Joseph is an exercise in the opposite. You know, when I see something that makes me happy, he actually thinks I should have that thing? Wild …
But I digress.
Paper. I have piles and piles of semi-important paper, and I just can’t get a handle on it. I’ve gone through multiple “I will organize this” rounds, which last till I get frustrated and overwhelmed. I can’t find anything that’s really important (except I kind of remember which pile has my glasses prescription in it). I don’t know which container has the latest organization scheme. And there’s 4 huge piles of it around the house.
And the mailman is Not Helping.
I am fascinated by small houses, in part because – how do they do it?? Here I am with more room than I have ever had before, and I have expanded to overfill it.