mishka=messy
I have a problem.
I am disorganized.
VERY disorganized.
And I am a struggling-to-recover pack-rat.
I have a lot of stuff and I don't know what to do with it or where to put it. My storage locker is completely full of boxes and Rubbermaid bins and can fit no more. My small 1 bedroom apartment has limited closet space, and is overflowing with my possessions. I envy those people who have family members with attics and basements where they can store things they do not need but keep for sentimental reasons - old school work, old clothes, books, etc.
The most upsetting part is that since I moved into my apartment last year, I have cleansed myself of many useless items... but I still have too much.
When the boy moved in with me in December, he brought very little with him, and I feel all this guilt for subjecting him to my neverending clutter. Our bedroom has a corner that is piled with boxes filled with miscellany that I need to ruthlessly empty and get rid of. I feel embarrassment that the apartment is cramped and we haven't taken the time to put up pictures or photos. Instead, most of my pictures are in a box on the floor of my living room.
If I could afford it, I would pay someone to come into my home, purge my belongings and organize the rest. But, this weekend, I will start my own purge my damn self. Starting with the games and other crap in my front hall closet.
This post will serve as the proverbial kick in the ass that I need. Encouragement is welcome.
posted by mishka at 3:03 PM
12 Comments:
Cleaning out feels good. Go for it! Good luck x
3:31 PM, April 11, 2006
Um, (gulp) we share more than a name in this respect.
When you organize, you'll find so much cool stuff in the process. That's my main motivation for cleaning up my act (when I do...)
3:48 PM, April 11, 2006
Thanks for the luck-wishing, Molly. I am going to need it.
Michelle - perhaps we should form a virtual support group for Clutter Grrls. Watcha think?
I do have a lot of cool stuff buried in boxes... and I'm worried that once I whittle my belongings down, I'll just be left with the cool things... and it'll still be too cramped!
3:53 PM, April 11, 2006
Virutal support would be very cool. Yeah, the cool things will STILL take up too much space, but then you get to the point where you consider (and maybe actually do, I haven't quite yet) give/trade that stuff away. Right up against my legs, under the computer as I type this very comment, is a box of stuff that I'm supposed to sell/give away. I'm going to do that soon, I want that space back for my other stuff!
5:25 PM, April 11, 2006
I'm a Clutter Grrrl too!
Confession: I have stuff in the trunk of the car that needs to be given away.
8:07 PM, April 11, 2006
do you get the tv show "clean sweep" in Canada? you need to watch it. it changed my life. i used to be like y'all but now i LOVE getting rid of stuff. purge purge purge! sometimes, we go around our house and look for stuff to get rid of just for the fun of getting rid of stuff.
one of the most important things the guy on that show says is about keeping sentimental things - always remember that the object is NOT the memory. you have the memory apart from the object. keeping sentimental things that you never look at and that are shoved in boxes isn't helping honor those memories, if anything, it's dishonoroing them. better the stuff go to people who could use it and you still have the memory in your head. i'm not explaining it well - you really have to watch the tv show!
1:01 PM, April 12, 2006
Glad to hear that you've conquered your clutter, Jen.
Oh, we get Clean Sweep! Trust me. The first few times I watched the show I felt sick to my stomach like someone was throwing away MY stuff. I think my "illness" is pretty deep.... haha...
The thing about memorable items - I think I discovered a way that I can let go of [some of] them. I have taken photos of the items and then removed them from my home. This includes my awesome [suede] skull buckle boots from the 80s - I took photos of them and cut the buckles off to reuse. Same with a teddy bear I has since I was a baby... he was stinky, unwashable and probably riddled with germs, so I took photos of us together and set him free down the incinerator :D Very therapeutic.
3:53 PM, April 12, 2006
ooh i can soooo relate to what you're going through! i need to be a member of the clutter grrl club. i purged sooo much stuff when i moved to toronto and again 2 yrs later when we moved again. it took forever but it felt SO. GOOD! i still have *way too much* crap. maybe we need to try and organize some sort of swap this spring so that we can all clear out our clutter. uh, but then we'll just come home with more stuff. gah!
4:29 PM, April 12, 2006
ps. i forgot to wish you luck. GOOD LUCK!! if we don't hear from you by this time next week, we'll organize a search party... ;)
4:31 PM, April 12, 2006
Mishka, good luck! I am an organized purger, so I can't quite relate to your situation . . . but I'm sending all of my organizational-tossing vibes your way!
A generally good rule of thumb is, if you haven't used it or worn it in a year, give it away. (The only thing I own that does not fit that rule is my ice cream maker, and that is because my freezer is too small to accomodate the chill bowl, but I know I'll use it when I move into a place with a bigger fridge.)
Once you get your place clean and organized, make time once a season to go through everything and purge again. If you stay on top of things, it won't feel like such an enormous project ever again!
10:04 PM, April 14, 2006
I hear ya, sister! I'm a pack rat too, but I did a major purge this weekend of all the newspapers I insist on keeping well beyond the sensible amount of time. And embarrassingly I found many, many unopened letters! Mostly junk mail but one that should've been attended to awhile ago, whoops! In my "read later" pile.
Well, good luck with the clutter clearing!!
6:05 PM, April 16, 2006
oh, how i can relate to this! but it does feel really good to purge once you get going. good luck, mishka!! :)
10:07 AM, April 17, 2006
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