stop being such a packrat

I went through the DVDs last night, and came up with a stack to be donated to the library.

I used to do this at the library where I used to work, too. I likely donated 20 or 30 DVDs there.

I’ve already donated five or six to this library, and I came up with 16 more. Sometimes you get a movie, and watch it once, and you just know you don’t need to see it again. Or, you’ve watched it a few times, but now it’s okay to let it go.

In either case, these are movies that have just sat here for the last couple of years, and they would do more good at the library.

I try to do this every season, as I put my winter clothes away and bring out summer clothes, and vice versa.

I always have a lot of clothes, some I haven’t worn in years. I seem to get rid of a lot of clothes, but then I go buy a few things….so it’s an endless cycle.

Whenever someone is coming to visit from home, or my husband is driving out, I try to get together a whole bunch of clothes and whatever I think my sister and her family can use. She has three girls, and they can always use some clothes.

Sometimes I am shocked at how much extra stuff I have, even though it seems like I also keep getting rid of things.

I got my husband to go through two boxes of stuff, and after a fair amount of whining and “you’re not the boss of me”, he was able to throw out one full box of stuff after only about five minutes of deliberation.

I put together several shopping bags full of stuff; clothes, a few scarves, sheets, a pair of boots, a jacket, some ski pants, to send to my sister and her girls. Not sure how much of it they can use, but it sure isn’t getting used here.

This isn’t a big entry, but I am putting together a small box of drawing/painting items for my niece. She draws a bit, and I thought she might appreciate some real drawing pencils, some paper, and watercolors and such. These are all of the extras that come sometimes when you buy a book, or a kit, and you don’t need the little pencil kit that comes with it.

I picked out a drawing book for her too.

I figured it might be nice if she had somewhere to start.

I had a few things here and there that were to go to the thrift store, and I got them all organized and ready to go. I also added a few more things to the pile, and went through my books and got a box ready to go. It’s a fair amount of stuff, once it’s all in one pile.

Today I went through some stuff in the spare room, and came up with a few things to give to a friend, and another bag to go to the thrift store.

I took this same friend all the work gloves my husband was willing to part with.

It all counts!

that I am starting to feel much more comfortable with clearing things away that I no longer need.

It takes a certain amount of confidence to say that you don’t need a pair of shoes, or a stack of old clothes. It isn’t easy to give yourself permission to give away something sentimental, or something that was a gift.

You have to have a strong enough sense of self to know that you’ll be okay without it, or that you aren’t giving away a part of yourself, or that your happiness is more important than carrying around things.

You have to get over that strange sense of responsibility you can have for objects, like somehow you have to preserve them. That means all the endless work of storing them, cleaning them, sorting them, and from time to time, moving them.

It isn’t easy, to change your mindset about objects. I grew up without a lot of extra money, so you almost worshipped anything you owned. That’s fine, when you don’t have tons of stuff, but once you do, that mindset has to change.

Now I am more comfortable getting rid of something old when I buy something new (like pots), or things I’ve outgrown, or worn out things, or things I’ve taken out of obligation.

I’m not finished,(I likely never will be) but I am working hard to establish a new habit of regularly clearing things out, and trying to see objects as just useful, to help recognize things that are holding me back.

At some point, I want to have my home clutter free enough so that I can truly decorate, as in have an actual deliberate look to my home, instead of having piles of crap everywhere.

I did a little decluttering with my husband today.

He seems to collect work gloves. We have so many pairs! A lot of them are ones that are left behind at work sites, and would otherwise be thrown out. So, today I made a point of rounding up all the winter hats, all the work gloves, and we went through them together.

Any that were worn out or didn’t have mates were tossed. Several pair that were too small or didn’t get used were put in a pile to donate, and except for what we were currently wearing, everything else went into a rubbermaid tub for storage. This is much better than having a mound in the porch, and having to dig through them all for a pair of gloves.

I also got him to go through some of his things in the garden shed (I recently went through mine) and came up with a big box of stuff that he’s willing to part with.

So, that frees up some more space!

I gave a men’s jacket and a shirt to our neighbour. I am also rapidly filling another box to go to the thrift store.

Today I took two aquariums and their canopies and gave them to a person who expressed an interest on our local freecycle. He was tickled pink to get free aquariums, and I am just happy someone can use them.