Too Much Stuff!

Published on August 13, 2008 By JillUser In Blogging

I realized one of the reasons I feel so relaxed at our cottage...it isn't filled to the brim with crap! Our home is so overrun with stuff that it just weighs me down sometimes. I feel like renting a dumpster or calling a truck and having it all hauled away.

I'm not a hoarder but I do have the curse of feeling that the moment I get rid of something I'll need it. I also feel guilt over getting rid of anything anyone gave me as a present. My husband and I have been married over 14yrs, we have three children and have accumulated a lot of stuff during that time.

Paperwork and toys are my biggest obstacles. My husband still has pretty much every toy he ever owned and our kids have far more toys than they could ever play with. None of them could possibly part with any of them though. And the paperwork comes in at an alarming rate and you don't want to get rid of a single receipt because you might need it!

I'm not a naturally organized person. I know where everything is. Noone else would have an easy time finding anything though. If I dropped dead, my family could find our estate papers easily but lord help them with finding anything else!

Maybe I need one of those Clean My House shows to come help No, my house doesn't look that bad. I just have stuff stuffed in closets, my basement is overflowing and my desk is piled with paperwork. Calgon, take me away!

Comments

Jythier

on Aug 13, 2008

Give it all away, and see if the book wasn't right.

Texas Wahine

on Aug 13, 2008

My garage is stuffed, and it is very annoying! I like to keep things, too, in case I need them later, but I don't like clutter.

It's a major project getting rid of things. I have been listing things on CraigsList, but honestly, people annoy me with the way they will haggle and nag and ask you to deliver something you're selling for $2. It's two bucks, just come get it! Haha.

One thing Adrian did when we moved was he took a big container of Isabella's outgrown baby clothes, and without letting me sort through it to see what I wanted to keep, he just gave it to Salvation Army. I hate that feeling. I will never know if something precious to me was in that container!

All the paper coming in is a MAJOR annoyance, too and I can't imagine with you guys having a business how much worse it must be for you! And sorting through papers and organizing them is sooo time consuming. And I always think I can't throw something away because I might need it.

Argh.

JillUser

on Aug 13, 2008

Give it all away, and see if the book wasn't right.

You sure are harping on that. I give all the time FYI. When I do get rid of stuff, it goes either to people I know personally who can use it or it goes right to our local Purple Heart. I give clothes away constantly and have gotten rid of lots of stuffed animals (I don't know why people keep giving our kids huge stuffed animal!).

JillUser

on Aug 13, 2008

TW, as usual, sounds like you know exactly what I'm talking about. We have a friend that took a car load of stuff to sell for us on Ebay. I refuse to have another garage sale though! Garage sales are far more work than they're worth. I just take stuff to Purple Heart since it is right down the road and I can just drop it off as soon as I want it out of the house.

Like you said TW, time is a huge factor. Today I have the hankering to start dejunking but I have XYZ that HAS to get done today. I can't just do a little bit of dejunking and leave it. I'm one of those people who has to see something through or it drives me crazy. So if I know I don't have the time to go through a whole room, dejunk and get rid of the stuff, I won't do it. That's why I haven't done it!

Boudica

on Aug 13, 2008

I go through "clean out" phases. I still have too much stuff. I have no problem cleaning out the kids stuff - it's MY stuff that's the problem. I have definately improved on this area though.

With the kids toys, you can start a one in, one out rule. If they get something new, they have to find something that they don't play with to give to charity. At least that way you are maintaining the current level instead of adding to it.

I am a big believer in the Flylady. She says we go on vacation to get away from our stuff and I believe her. http://www.flylady.net/

JillUser

on Aug 13, 2008

I am a big believer in the Flylady.

That's a cute site! I don't think I have CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). I just don't feel organized. The surface stuff is under control. It's the "stuff that can wait" that I feel lurking in the background. People don't see that stuff when they come over.

JillUser

on Aug 15, 2008

I started dejunking. It will probably take me a year or so to get through the whole house at the rate I'm going. I always get a million interuptions and I have to organize to the nth degree once I get into it. So far so good though.

Boudica

on Aug 15, 2008

It will probably take me a year or so to get through the whole house at the rate I'm going.

It's therapeutic though, don't you think. Maybe it will be easier when the boys are back in school. I know I get a lot more accomplished when my gang is out of the house.

Texas Wahine

on Aug 15, 2008

Good luck Jill!

It is a real feeling of accomplishment to get a closet or other area organized and sorted through and decluttered, but it really takes a lot of time and concentration!

I would *love* to have every area in and out of the house perfectly organized. I think it would be a huge stress reliever.

JillUser

on Aug 15, 2008

Maybe it will be easier when the boys are back in school. I know I get a lot more accomplished when my gang is out of the house.

It will actually be harder because they help me with the biggest trouble maker...Ashley.

I would *love* to have every area in and out of the house perfectly organized. I think it would be a huge stress reliever.

Me too! I think I would feel freer and more confident too. Whether or not I'm doing anything about it, it's always in the back of my mind that I should be in the house organizing stuff. I feel guilty about being outside playing with the kids but then I remind myself of the saying "Noone leaves this life thinking 'I only wish I had kept a cleaner house'".

Life goes by quickly and it usually feels more important to be out and about with the kids. There comes a time though when you want nothing more than to get things organized and under control. I thinking feeling more in control is what I really need right now.

JillUser

on Sep 08, 2008

So far I've totally organized my pantry and most of my kitchen. It doesn't sound like much, but it's pretty major for me. I also went through all of the kids' clothes. The boys' room is still a wreck but I think that is pretty normal.

I'm getting better about weeding out the paperwork. I have the boys' school stuff pretty organized also. I'm on my way!

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