How did I accumulate so much clutter?

I've moved several times since 1999. Left my loved house, a giant deal for me to do.

First to a house several hundred miles north that my new real estate agent suggested for me, to keep warm in the winter of my move. I did. Stuff unloaded to the garage, some of my paintings on the walls, cookbooks in the pantry, bread rising, opera on the cd player, sequoias in the backyard. The house hadn't sold for three years. I made fun of it to myself, for good reason.

I was there three weeks, agent called, people showed up, loved it, signed to buy.

I then moved to the house owned by the husband of the couple that bought the place. He was a collector. I do mean collector. There was a baseball card room, a pool table room, shaving cream collection in the bathrooms, bubble gum collection in the dining room, beer can collection... and a certain canoe in the back yard. I then lived in one of the four bedrooms and the kitchen.

Time passed and I bought my own house. Fixed it up, re electrical and plumbing. Our business couldn't support us and my business partner and I split, reasonably amicably. She had more feet in the area, elderly husband and so on, so I looked to move to a small place somewhere else. Picked Albuquerque, god help me.

Trouble is, the clutter I have left, such as it is, is important to me. Hard to get rid of. Time has a way with these decisions, as I get engaged with the tossing.

I'd be better off as a buddhist, but am not.

So, tell, oh Prince. How are you dealing with your clutter?

I have a big skip in front ofmy house and I am ruthlessly throwing anything that I have not used in the last one year.

Looks like I will have to order a couple more skips.

In October I will have lived in Florida two years. I still have boxes in my garage that I haven’t unpacked yet. Mostly books. My dad had given me his high school ring when I was 17 and I hadn’t seen it since I moved here, until just a couple of months ago when I found it in a small china dish.

I went into my loft yesterday with the handyman (now now!!) and started opening the boxes. If it wasn't books, out in the skip it went.

Cant figure out what to do with my woollens as I am not going to be needing them , but can't bring myself to throw them away either.

You trollup! HAHAHA! have a great weekend!

some ideas - that Oxfam thing they have in England - if it's at all like the Salvation Army, at least my favorite of their stores in Santa Monica, CA had what I would call a good stuff section.. I got some of my best stuff there, irish coats of a good brand. Got Armani wear at a place called the Discovery Shop in Beverly Hills (still have the great grey wool blazer) as well as an Austin Reed white suit, a good brand at the time, fits me again now that I've lost weight) and there are Discovery Shops all over California - don't know about anywhere else. Maybe there is something similar in London.

Or, there may be some specific type donation places for people who need good clothes for work but can't afford them.

If yours are all what I understand as bespoke, why don't you ask the tailor/shop if they have any suggestions.

Woollens as in clothing or as in bedding?

Osso, I'm a Buddhist with a clutter of stuff so large that I can't change my 36 year old carpet.