Hoarders' therapy group.

Oh you make such fantastic sense, Amigo!

These excesses of "stuff" seem to be the result of excessive settling in one's ways! Long relationships, too long in one place, too long fixating on certain ideas.....

The thing to remember (I'm learning!) is that one is only on the planet for a finite period.

Off-load!.... give (what might be really wonderful!) to some one else who actually needs it!

Books are only good in circulation. To put them on a shelf like trophys is selfish and arrogant if you think about it.

It's like saying "Oh look what i've read"

Books die on the shelf. Bring them back to life.

There are many philosophies about the down side of possesions.

Think of the new space!!! And the new life you can fill it with.

Free yourself misolga! and give gifts in the process. But be careful I have given away things I wish I had not.

Amigo--

My books are willing guests--not captives or trophies. They circulate among a select circle and return home.

At least I hope they return home.

Msolga--

I winnowed out my cookbooks last year--the Internet is very accommodating about delivering recipes.

Right now I'm winnowing my underwear drawer. If it doesn't fit--out. If it is tattered--out. If it is slightly tattered--out.

My parents survived the Great Depression and I was inculcated with the dictum, Save It Just-in-Case. Now I'm liberating myself.

Noddy - I do this fairly regularly, since I was talking to an acquaintance who had to close up an elderly relatives home after her death. She commented that she had never seen so much tatty underwear, some unwearable. This woman was quite wealthy, so didn't need to keep the old stuff. But - a product of the Depression.

I resolved that this, at least, wouldn't happen to me!

Margo--

When my mother was dying, she specifically gave me her bras. Of course they didn't fit me, but I knew that my mother's idea of extravagant living was buying a new bra (even if she didn't really need one).

"Really meant that she had at least two other bras and at least one of them had a full compliment of hooks and eyes.

My mother got a lot of sartorial and emotional mileage out of her underwear.

I'm on my way, Amigo! Hooray!

Today, as I solemnly promised myself, I off-loaded many, many cookbooks to the Brotherhood op shop in Brunswick! Let me tell you, some aspiring & unconfident vegetarians (especially) are going to make a killing there!

As well, I've donated a load of old VHS movies. Just about all of them are good movies, but given that I have the choice of DVD & VHS, I've gotten rid of a powerful amount of unnecessary clutter! If I ever want to see Raise The Red Lantern again, I'll rent it!

I offered my next door neighbour a choice of any number of things I was loading into my car boot, back seat, front seat ..... but she confessed that she had a major clutter problem, too ... & was determined not to add to it!

My, that was a fabulous feeling, getting rid of all that. Just one thing with books ... never make the mistake that I did ... of browsing as you discard. You know what that leads too!

But I feel so virtuous! I'm having a couple of glasses of sav blanc to celebrate! I'm terrific!

Next week, I've promised myself to continue with the culling. My little house is simply too small for all this stuff!

Msolga--

I'm toasting your liberation with mint tea. Your cookbooks are actually out of the house? Good for you.

My top pantry shelf--protein, miscellaneous and impulse buys--is due for a winnowing.

I half-filled my recycling can with Perfectly Good Jars (with lids). Some of them even had the labels scrubbed off.

Clothes, soon clothes will start to magically disappear as I go closet shopping for ever smaller sizes. I have two, possibly as many as four, sizes in various closets around the house. I look forward to having one size, one (er, maybe two ) closet, with everything fitting and making me feel fabulous.

On my way but it'll take a while. Goodwill is going to benefit.

Good for you, Noddy! And...you just made the recyclers' jobs easier for them by removing the labels. Two good deeds at once!

Eva--

I think molten glass does a good job at vaporizing labels--but the jars are in the recycling can, waiting for Thursday.

Good for you, jespah!

Just think, smaller closets, too! Think of all that extra space!

Exactly! Boxes and boxes everywhere right now, and it's a bit much!

We're gonna do it, all of us, gonna shed our skins!

Yes we will! Absolutely!

Excess clothes (& other cumbersome things ... sigh) are next on the list!

Oh to have one of those elegant, uncluttered, beautiful, frugal Japanese-style environments to dwell in!

OK, maybe that's being a wee bit optimistic, but .....

Amen.

Fifteen minutes ago my left-side-top desk drawer jamed again.

Inspired by msolga and A2K I ruthlessly discarded at least 5000 address labels (charity gifties), put all my loose stamps in one corner and put the free memo pads (charity gifties) in a pile for Mr. Noddy who likes memo paper that announces it is memo paper.

The drawer closes now.

The project took 7 minutes. Had I not been quite so selective about which address labels to discard it would have been 4 or 5 minutes.

It helps not to look too closely, Noddy!

Faster even! :wink:

msolga--

Second desk drawer trimmed down in 4 minutes.
Chucked all manner of free seeds.
Chucked ugly little plastic pouches.
Found some more notepads for Mr. Noddy.
Put my peppermints in a smaller container.
Squared up a stack of filing envelopes.

Finis.

Well done!

Take a bow, Noddy!


And next ...?

Msolga--

Two wildlife organizations sent me address labels in the morning mail.

I started to winnow them--and then I just dropped the unwinnowed sheets in the wastebasket.

I'm not tackling the last two desk drawers--they are full of sentimental cards and such and I'm not up to sentimental winnowing.

I did clean out the vegetable drawer in the fridge. A forgotten cucumber has been composted.

What about you?

The crisper, Noddy! (That's what we call the vegetable draw here.) You actually cleaned out the crisper?!!!

You are a truly brave woman.

I'm psyching myself up for that one. (Who knows what I'll find in there? )

I'm taking a rest from the big off-load today & am concentrating on a bit of a clean-up!