I’ve been cleaning, sorting, packing, throwing a whole bunch of stuff for the past month and I keep asking myself “Do we really need all this S**T?”
When did I become a “hoarder”? Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit here but that’s what it feels like at the moment. For example, paper clips. It seems that every time I turn around, there is at least a few dozens lying around. Now, by itself, it’s not a problem. We always use paper clips here (that means that we also have a lot of paper).
I started to put them all together in a Ziploc bag. You know what? I can now open a store with all the paper clips we have!!! Where did they all come from? Did they multiply while we were sleeping?
And it’s not just paper clips either. It’s notebooks, binders, pens and pencils, candles and let’s not forget books! I have my own book store now.
If you don’t know this about me yet, I’m a bookaholic. And I’m proud of it too (well maybe not after we finish our move). I already have about 20 cases of book in the storage unit that we rented for our future home.
The criteria for storing stuff was:
- It is irreplaceable? Yes? Storage. No? Sell, give or throw.
- Does it take much room? No? Storage. Yes? Sell, give or throw.
- Is it cheap? No? Storage. Yes? Sell, give or throw.
That is about how it goes. Obviously, we did some exceptions to that rule when it came to my books. I just couldn’t let go. What if I want to reread my Harry Potter books for the 3rd time or my Ayla series for the 5th time? (no kidding here-I actually read The Clan of The Cave Bears series FOUR times). I won that battle.
Then comes the clothing, the shoes, toiletries, the food in the pantry, the toys for the grandkids and most difficult, the kids first drawings. This is so getting out of hand here. The more I take out stuff to sort, the worst it gets.
Luckily, we only have limited space which actually forces us to pick and choose (except for my books of course). The more my house looks like a hurricane swept through here, the more I want to get rid of stuff. By the end of our final Estate Sale this coming Saturday, it should be interesting to see what will be left and what we will end up doing with it.