Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
DeCluttering: Inspiration, Success Stories, Tips
Hopalong:
Not one bit. Most of my clutter comes from disorganization and ADHD -- getting excited about some idea and taking out everything I'll need (bye bye clear surface, whatever it is) and then the hummingbird in my head goes Wee, new frower! and nothing gets properly put away for ages, and then the next idea I think of produces more stuff out, and then eventually....I look around objectively and feel overwhelmed. Decision making. Too many decisions. Then a bunch of health stuff kicked in, mostly better now. Chronic back pain plus an occasional injury.
One dumb thing is that my $15 solid maple dresser that I love is the reason I often don't put clean laundry away for ages. It finally hit me -- it's so heavy that opening and closing the drawers (bending over and over, worst back position) hurts. THAT's why. So I don't know if non-modern drawers could be fitted with glides, but I could find out.
After some help, the job is now down to the scariest part: literally a couple of years of paperwork and mail that has to be gone through piece by piece. (Much less the pre-move family and legal stuff.) I actually have a rationally organized filing system in my "office." The problem has mostly been decisions, again, and putting things in to follow through on a task, not space.
I know the philosophy of dealing with mail immediately and if doing something paperworky, always having a plan for its completion or in-process filing. I have a system but you can break a system. Last year, it was so chaotic that for the first time ever, I just skipped filing taxes. Lost two essential forms. Made a City clerk laugh when I told her I was expecting a SWAT team. But this year I did get them done, at the verrrrrrrry last, turn-into-a-pumpkin moment.
Paperwork, for me, is much harder to deal with than objects or clothing or other possessions. I enjoy getting rid of or donating those. Paperwork always feels consequential and triggers more decisions or wandering worrypaths. Focusfocus.
I'm encouraged anyway, because with some help, many spaces breathe now that couldn't for a long time.
And I am an extremely lucky human, housed and in a quiet neighborhood near town. Two friendbors are icing on the cake. Pooch has been making me whole for a decade. I'm wobbly but still well enough to enjoy life and a few friends. Once I stop whining and start working at the problem, I always feel much better.
Spring don't hurt. I have crow friends, cardinals, and a neighboring rooster that crows at 3pm every day and makes me laugh. And writing friends. And UU friends. Not vast numbers but I don't need those. A few of each and life feels pretty good. One of the biggest changes for me in recent years has been finding that volunteer slot that actually fulfills me, mostly. I find a lot of meaning in it. And good people.
hugs
Hops
Meh:
I lived with someone who scanned all their paperwork. I'm not that futuristic. I have two boxes of paperwork. I see one right now. I haven't opened it up in a couple years and even if I did I probably would not find anything useful. I actually need to start a 2024 folder of sorts.
Meh:
I've got five boxes of clothing all jumbled together. I do not want to go through it but since I plan to put at least three of those boxes into storage TODAY well I have have to.
I'm going to take a shower and then just do this sorting of clothing as fast as possible. I think maybe the key to doing a task you don't want to do is to do it quickly? IDK. Or to NOT think about it too much. I think I should have one box casual stuff. One box dress-up stuff and the rest in storage for the time being because I just can't think about it. Thinking is ultimately often more like ruminating. Deep sigh. Fecking hell my life is stupid haha 😂.
Hopalong:
Heck, throw out a third of each box.
EASY for me to say....
hugs
Hops
Meh:
Yeah, Hops,
In the past I used to buy a couple of new items and throw out three or four old items but they were getting replaced with new shirts or whatever. Currently nothing is getting replaced with anything new which makes it harder.
We have real seasons here. Snow, rain, wind, sunshine, 80 degrees and below freezing so there are always things that are not being used at some point in the year because they aren't seasonal. But yeah. I just don't have time now to mess with it too much.
I could START OVER. I do think about it but shopping also takes up time and I don't enjoy it really. None of it is important to me it's just a matter of functionality I guess.
It is easier to encourage others than do get it done oneself. Though being that I've been down-in-the-dumps for a long long while even peeking at it and moving it DOES feel like the START of getting over inertia.
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