I am a HUGE packrat. Why? A lot of it is the belief that I’ll be able to use something for something else: scrap paper for cards or writing, old cookware for fun storage bins, or old clothing that could be used in sewing. Because of this, I’ve held onto a lot of things that I don’t need nor are momentos I want to keep. They’re just there.
My attempts in the past to rid myself of this clutter have made for much frustration as the belief in the past was that my family was forcing me to get rid of beloved items. These days, though, I have more than enough to my name and I have made the promise to live better (another reason for the inception of this blog) as such this means cleaning.
Which means letting go of some things I once treasured.
I think it’s the hardest thing in the world for packrats to donate or throw away something. Whether it’s the beanie baby mom gave you for an Good Job! on your grade school book report or the book report itself, it’s the memory that really makes the decision hard. How do you know you won’t forget that great feeling if you don’t have the thing that will remind you of it? (If that makes sense!) The answer: you won’t. It’s in your mind and it can be drawn up easily enough.
If you still can’t bear to part, take a picture of the item and put it in an album online or tangible. If it’s a paper, get a three ring binder, some paper protectors, and put the pages in the protector backwards. I.E.: So you can’t see the words and are forced to pull it out to read it. If after a year, the pages are still unread, let it go.
It’s really not the item that we cling to – it’s the emotion it evokes and damned if it doesn’t feel like someone has a gun to your head when contemplating getting rid of it. Do yourself a favor, though, by saying goodbye to it and instead, write down the memory. Get a journal, put it into words, and then when you need to, read the entries. Clutter free and you’ve rewarded yourself with a bit of an endorphine rush from recalling great times.
