July 22nd, 2008
Old posts
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07.22.08note to self: you have too much stuff
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ver the last two days I’ve been tidying up parts of my room, mostly in anticipation for having to pack away and move out which admitedly isn’t until next month but for once in my life I thought I’d get a head start. So far I’ve only tidied some draws and part of a corner of my room which is nothing really, yet I’ve somehow managed to fill three bin bags and have now run out actually. I’m totally surprised by how much clutter I have, I constantly forget that I’m a hoarder or at least an invisible one it seems I don’t like throwing away bits of paper, old project assignments, old bills I just sort of hang onto them. Paper and cardboard boxes which I have a pile of ontop of my wardrobe attributed to the fact that there’s never anywhere to put them, they’re my next battle I’m going to squash them flat and force them into our overflowing bin somehow.
There’s something very therapeutic about getting rid of a whole bunch of things you’ve ‘kept’ for no real reason its on a different level to tidying up, tidying up is just moving things about that you own and cleaning up a bit this on the other hand is looking through things and going ‘why the hell did I keep this’ along with ‘do I really need this’ then having to convince yourself that you no longer need a bill from two years ago. My clothes are going to be the last thing to sort out, there are a whole piles of them that I don’t wear and won’t ever wear again but its so difficult to get myself to throw them out but it is one of those things that I have to do, I have to cast off old possessions once in a while I feel it helps me grow to get rid of things from the past - especially clothes from 4 seasons ago. I just wish I had money to buy a bunch more, but that would just be defeating the point of de-cluttering. I however have to keep myself on track.
De-cluttering Tips:
- All paper must go, if its a scrap, if its an old magazine, if its an old bill or if you have no idea why you kept it or what it is for get it in the recycle bin.
- Don’t think about it, learn to cut off your brain. Become a robot with your sorting.
- Don’t talk yourself into keeping something, because you will find yourself going ‘oh but i might wear this moth eaten pair of gloves I bought two years ago again.’ Trust me, you’ll never wear them again and neither will anyone else.
- If you find it impossible to cut off and find your brain questioning what you’ve just filled a bin bag with ask yourself, do you love it, when did you last see/use it, do you even need it? Chances are you probably don’t.
- Just do one room at a time, or you’ll end up exhausted.
- Find places for the things you want to keep, or if like my room there are barely any places for clutter start a pile of the things you want to keep and when all the clutter is gone find places for things in your keep pile, it can be quite rewarding to give your room a new look.
- When you’ve cleared out enough junk, move furniture around it’ll make the room seem even more new.
- Open up your cluttered drawers or a box you’ve been shoving junk into and just dump it out onto the bed, this is what I do. This way you have to force yourself to sort through it otherwise you’ll have to find somewhere else to sleep.
- Put loud and happy music on while you’re de-cluttering, sing along if you have to it will make it seem like less of a chore
- Most of all make sure to keep it that way, or at least convince yourself you will even if you know that in a few weeks time you’ll be back to where you started.
