When I downsized from my farm in WA state to 2 bedrooms in my daughters house in PA four years ago, my eyes were opened to my serious problem with OCD.
No, I haven't been professionally diagnosed, but the evidence was there. Many many pick-up loads of "things that might come in handy someday" went to the dump. I cannot tell you how many old yoghurt containers there were, as well as useful jars with screwon tops. (I saved all the canning jars which we don't use here) I really tried hard to get rid of all kinds of stuff. My son came down twice with a huge trailer and took most of the outdoor stuff as well as a huge sectional couch. I was appalled at how little I could unload on used book dealers, used furniture places, consignment clothing stores. In the last few weeks, we were carting stuff to the Goodwill bins and trying to overlook how much was spent on the stuff. Boxes of books, pots and pans, dish sets, linens, etc. After the drastic paring down, it still cost $9000 to move cross country!
Have lived here almost 4 years now. There are still boxes that have not been unpacked. There were 3 years where the house was not entirely ours and the other owner was extremely uncooperative, even stored his stuff in the garage. Well, this summer, he came for SOME of his stuff, passed by all the "by this date" times, so last weekend, we cleaned out the garage!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was a lot that had to be thrown out because of mouse damage and evidence. Our church thrift store got a lot of fabulous stuff.
Daughter and granddaughter cleaned out 50% of the stuffed toys and I carted 6 bags to the church. They also went thru all the outgrown clothes and old toys. Daughter is very good about always staying ahead of the clutter. She'll throw anything away.
We are about to embark on turning the garage into my own space. We are extending one end and putting in a bath. I will divvy up the spaces with various storage units from IKEA. So-o-o I am now going thru boxes of clippings I knew I'd need, eliminating more clothing, simplifying etc. I find the business of deciding what to throw out extremely difficult. However, changing my life, as well as getting far more proficient on the internet has change a lot of what I used to keep. Why cut a clipping when it is in the archives of the publication. My discovery of these forums is a fairly recent one. The information contained herein is just amazing. I cannot hardly drag myself away.
I have made some decisions that have helped a great deal. I have kept several nice black pants, some jackets, various nice tops. Like Kathryn Hepburn, I eliminated dresses and just wear pants. I cut back my shoes to 5-6 pair. Birkies all summer and splogs all winter. Socks with Birkies during spring and fall. Wear jeans, T-shirts, and flannel shirts year round here at the house. The hard part is that life is also making some decisions for me. I have developed a familial tremor that effectively wiped out any carving. I have a very complete set of carving tools and refuse to just give them away. I also have a complete set of camera and lenses. The shakes have eliminated that--the digital added to the demise of that set. The dimming of eyesight has affected my ability to focus, so I wonder who would want that set. I cannot just give them away. With each of those hobbies goes a bunch of books.
I did make the decision to focus on a FEW hobbies that I can do and NOT be tempted by any other neat ideas. I chose quilting and needlepoint. The eyes still work well enough for that. So, any other crafty stuff goes.This includes all clippings other than those that pertain to Q and N. I can and do plant propagation and personal landscaping(ie, not for others). In the spring I will get some rabbits and chickens because I like them, but I caught myself exploring raising game birds. NO!! slap my hand, hard. :no: :no:
I have one 4-drawer file cabinet. Every clipping I keep, personal finance, the backyard nursery business, Q&N material, old calendars, cards, and pictures I think are nice, patterns, photos, etc. has to fit in that cabinet. No more boxes of etc. There is still way too much etc. in my life. Also, too much Misc.
The best part of all this is that there is a time frame I must follow. No postponing for "later" whenefer that is. An additional incentive is that when I die, my daughter said she would be going through every paper I have. I am truly trying to spare her that.
Another good thing is that winter is fast approaching--the perfect time to do all this.
Oh, yes, I am also studying Benedictine Spirituality with a group from my church. Hopefully, this and learning more about centeriing prayer should bring order to my life, especially thought processes.
Why, oh why, didn't I discover some of these neat ideas when I was in my 20's?
Sandi