stop being such a packrat

I have gone through my kitchen and living room and most of my bedroom. I just need to finish getting rid of stuff. I am doing great so far.

i have like 38495634896 things in my side of my bedroom. i share a room with my sister.

I am making a monumental (for me) move from the suburbs in Washington state to downtown San Francisco. To do so, I have had to basically get rid of everything I own, save for what fits into two suitcases and three Rubbermaid bins. I had SO much stuff, it was unbelievable. It took me TWO weeks to sort though all of it, and I was able to donate over two large pickup trucks full of stuff.

I felt so much better once everything is gone, and I’m almost ready to get rid of those last few bins too! The only things I want to keep are my clothing/shoes/makeup that I actually wear, photos, my TiVo, laptop and a few souvenirs from my trip to France. That sounds like a lot but compared to what I had before, it is a huge difference.

My best suggestion is to go though all your belongings like you really are moving. Think about what you really need and use. If it isn’t worth enough to lug it up two flights of stars, then get rid of it! Plus, you are helping so many people by donating to a non-profit like Goodwill.

today was a monumental day. i saw the floor of my closet. it’s scary how happy that makes me. :)

but i’m getting better. today, i put a whole trash bag out for goodwill. geez, i haven’t even gotten to my closet yet. i’m going to get rid of the things i don’t need. okay? i just am, there are people who need my junk more than i do, and i am just being selfish by keeping it, right?
heh, i have to talk myself into doing this.

I come from a family of packrats, so naturally I kept every last little thing. Then I discovered that I enjoy and feel more relaxed in open, clear spaces. I do have a ton of photos, and things that are in use like books, CDs, and DVDs… but otherwise just THROW THAT STUFF OUT! It will be a freeing experience for you!

i cleared out my wardrobe and sorted out some books and made huge piles of stuff i don’t think i’ll ever need anymore (haha, think). took so much refraining to stop myself from going back to the piles and dragging things out again so i packed them up into boxes. charity is around the corner!! and i feel good.

And several loads of my stuff over several sessions of purging!

Threw away a dirty pillow i’ve had for 9 years. Have another bag ready for goodwill. Somehow it keeps getting smaller though. Hmm. I’ve gotten rid of some stuff during the moves over the last year, but there is still much to go. I won’t let myself get a storage, so i’ll be forced to get rid of stuff i can’t find a place for. It’s hard!

...

I realized i have made progress over the years. When i first moved from my parents house, i had the most perfect room and all this stuff that i knew i would have no place for. I still have a lot of it, but taking it down and living for it without over a year made me realize i don’t really need it. Now i’m about to move again, and i look around…a lot of the stuff in my room is new since that other move! So what now…it joins the other stuff in boxes? I hope my new room is small, but not too small, and that i have a decent closet and a little storage space, for holiday things and stuff i know i WILL need.

I’ve done a huge cleaning of my apartment and gotten rid of all of the trinkets, bobbles, random space takers, and junk. It was really hard to get rid of some of the things, even though I knew I had absolutely no use for them! Gosh, I’m horrible!
I just hope useless material won’t make it back into my apartment for now. Especially considering the big move in my near future…!
MM