...I hate it! All this damn disorganization and clutter is really getting to me! I sometimes find myself experiencing the same nausea-inducing feeling of squeezing into a cramped elevator; claustrophobia within my own home. I think I may even suffer Anxiety from time-to-time just eyeing all of the needless junk in my family’s possession.
My Grandma was the first to bring this obnoxious tradition to my family. After the Depression, she felt the need to hang onto anything and everything; she was the one to gingerly unwrap a gift, lift each piece of tape ever so slowly, and proceed to nicely fold the wrapping paper to save for another time. Needless to say: she passed on her “frugalness” to my mom, my uncle, my sister, and me.
My Mom, although not quite to the point of folding wrapping paper (yet), can find a reason to save anything. You know, the “just-in-case-I-need-it” syndrome. Add to that, the bargains found at the various thrift stores we’ve shopped forever, constantly moving and packing up items into a storage unit that we never unpack…we inevitably replace items once or twice because they’re packed away somewhere…and you get…all the sh*t in the basement, the storage unit, my mom’s closet, most should-be-clutter-free surfaces in my house, and, oh yea, the garage. I could give toys, clothes, odd furniture, and random knick-knacks to keep a small community of people pretty stacked.
We were planning on having a garage sale this year, but it never got off the ground. We spent hours going through boxes in the basement; sorting things, cleaning things, pricing things. I have an entire closet full of items ready to sell, but just couldn’t get enough time in to do more. Over the winter, I’m definitely going to put more effort into the seemingly never-ending process.
My new bother is walking around my living room, kitchen, bathroom, the bedrooms, and seeing stupid things just taking up space! Nothing matches in my house! So many things that don’t serve a purpose but to bug me. I’ve asked my mom on many different occasions, “Can we get rid of this?” Sometimes she says “yes,” but other times it’s, “but we just got that,” or “it looks nice there,” or my favorite, “[humph] If you don’t like it, I’ll just put it in room then.” Her room is exploding with junk. She wants to get rid of all this crap, but she holds onto things with emotional strings. I’ve actually gotten her to part with a lot lately, but there’s more. So, my idea: I’ve put a big box in the living room. If I’m walking through the house and find something I don’t want, I put it in the box to be sold or donated. And she can do the same. If either one of us finds something in the box either one of us wants to keep, we have to put it in our bedroom. Yup, I played her line to my advantge. :) The box got full, and I moved it to the basement to be priced. But there’s another one in its place!
I WANT A SORTED, MATCHING, CLUTTERLESS, PEACEFUL LIVING SPACE!!!!!
