Are you like me? A bit overwhelmed with stuff and constantly feeling like you need to get “organized”? I’ve been letting it stress me lately.
I’ve always been a pack rat but I’ve just realize why I’m reaching my limits now with trying to find space and organize all the stuff (files, books, clothes, photos, and yes fabric and yarn too). During our 30 years together we have moved very frequently and each move has created the opportunity for me to declutter and reorganize – to shred files, to donate clothing and books, etc and we’ve been here in the Tampa house for 4 and a half years now (that’s a long time for us!) and since we aren’t going to move anytime soon, I know I need to start decluttering. I also need to do a better job of putting things away instead of just setting them down.
Out of curiosity last night I did a google search and read several articles about the difference between hoarding and being a pack rat. Like I said, luckily our moves have forced me to control the amount of stuff I have but it makes me wonder what it would look like around here if we’d lived in the same house for 31 years??
It’s a little scary reading the articles when they talk about hoarders having emotional attachment to their stuff which makes it difficult to let it go. I feel that attachment too and I know it’s probably not going to change but I am going to work on decluttering. It’s overwhelming to think about tackling the whole house so I’ll just do a little each day … if only a single drawer.
Today I tackled the top of my desk … things not being used were put away, stacks of papers were shredded and some were filed … I’m sure that some of the filed papers could/should have been shredded but I’ll take some progress rather than allowing it to paralyze me and prevent me from doing anything.
I also took a couple passes in the closet … pulling clothes to donate. I know the experts don’t agree but doing it in stages works for me. I haven’t even looked at the shoes and bags yet but I’ll go through the closet several more times and hopefully each time, will be comfortable pulling more stuff out to get rid of.
Would you be surprised to hear that in all of this, the size of my fabric and yarn stash really isn’t bothering me and that I’m not looking to downsize them because I actively use both?! What I will be working on is not adding to the stash indiscriminately. I’ve shared with you before that I have trouble resisting good sales on fabric and yarn and I’m not saying that I’m not going to shop the sales but I am going to work on resisting buying JUST because it’s on sale!
I’ve probably given you the wrong impression here … my house is perfectly presentable for the most part ( I admit the sewing room can get very messy as can the area around the chair in my bedroom where I crochet, knit, and bind) but since I’ve reached the point where it’s stressing me, it’s time to do something about it before it becomes more of a problem!