Too Much Stuff!

Ann: My house is overflowing. I’ve got to get rid of a bunch of my stuff…but I’m so sentimental I just can’t part with most of it.

Pam: What kind of stuff?

Ann: Toys my kids played with, clothes they wore, anything they made, or looked at for that matter. I know they’re grown now but….it’s so hard.

Pam: Just focus on the good part of clearing out stuff…the tidy spaces, the ease of finding things you decide to keep, and the enjoyment your stuff will give to someone who really needs it.

Ann: That’s the problem…what if it’s ME that needs it someday. As I look over each thing I plan to get rid of, I keep thinking I might need it someday and if I get rid of it then I won’t have it. But I have so much stuff, that even if I do need something I absolutely know I have, I can’t find it anyway. You wouldn’t understand. You’re so organized…

Pam: (Laughing) It’s all smoke and mirrors! You know very well if you open any drawer, cabinet, or closet in my house the terrible truth is told. I’m a mess. I can prove it. About a
month ago I bought one of those books about how to bring structure and organization to your life called, Clutter's Last Stand. I got it home and put it on my nightstand, but could never quite find the time…and by time I mean motivation…to read it. So yesterday to eliminate the constant visual reminder of my shortcomings, I decided at the very least I could put it on the bookshelf. That’s getting organized right? So I take it to the other room and go to place it on the shelf and I discover I already own a copy of the same book! How sad is that? I’m so disorganized I accidentally bought two copies of the same book on how to get organized.

Ann: Books don’t count. Remember Saint Brigit of Sweden? She and the nuns and brothers of her order, the Brigittines, lived very austere lives. They took a vow of poverty and didn’t own property at all with the exception of books. They could own as many books as they wanted. Eventually their monastery became the literary center of Scandinavia.

Pam: So you say the ten thousand paperbacks you have overflowing your office is justified by the fact that your home may someday become the literary center of Texas? That’s one of your better rationalizations.

Ann: I don’t know why I’m like this. My mother kept a meticulous house. A place for everything…and all that. Maybe it’s rebellion….who knows.

Pam: There may be something to that. I grew up in a pig sty. It was beyond disaster. I rarely brought friends home because I was embarrassed by the mess. Now I’m the opposite. Anyone could drop into my house at any time and, although it will look lived in, they would describe it as very tidy. I have to admit, I’m a bit compulsive about it.

Ann: Here we go blaming our mothers again! How will we feel when our daughters decide to hold us responsible for every one of their shortcomings?

Pam: Yeah, well, that’s another discussion. Let me tell you what helps me. When I’m trying to clear out clutter, I think of it as putting my house on a diet. You can even make a game of it, weighing the bags and boxes of stuff you carry out the door on the way to the garbage or the donation center. When I think of it that way as I clean out each closet or cabinet, I actually enjoy finding more stuff to get rid of…anything to add to the “weight” heading out the door.

Ann: Oh great! Another diet for me to fail….