While I've been reading and writing, my husband has decided that we have too much stuff in our lives and he wants some of it OUT! OK, fine, whatever. But it makes me defensive to have him ratting around in all the closets deciding what should stay and what should go. This man is black and white. Useful - stay, otherwise - go. No room for sentimentality what so ever.
If you're imagining closets bulging with stuff that hasn't been looked at in 20 years - it's not that bad. As a matter of fact, I go through the closets on about a yearly basis and purge mismatched gloves, outgrown boots, etc. But I NEVER touch his stuff, and I just went upstairs to find a bunch of MY stuff in the give away pile. What's up with that?
So am I nuts to want to keep my sons first little fleece snowsuit with the bears on it? I don't want to give away my antique jacket that I wore in college, or the jacket that was dad's. I swear, I'm not a packrat - but there are just some things that are not replaceable, even if it is a nondescript beige jacket.
I don't want to be a slave to stuff. Have you ever thought about how much stuff there is in the world? WHY so much? Why 50 kinds of shampoo? Why 100 different pens? And so much useless, meaningless chatchke. Why does all this stuff even exist?
My mother lives in the house that HER grandfather had built in 1901. It has never been emptied. Talk about STUFF! There's 103 YEARS worth of family stuff in there. I swear when my mom is gone, I'll probably have to move back to Indiana for a year to sort through it. It will be like falling into a black hole. We've tried to help her with it - but she's sure she'd get something for every bit of that stuff if she'd just have a yard sale. HA - like she ever will.
Whew - got to take a deep breath. It is just stuff after all. When something breaks - I'm able to write it off as a thing, no matter how meaningful it was. But when it comes to choosing what stuff must go - it's hard to take my heart out of the equation.Written by sunflowerkat321
This entry has 8 comments:
I too love stuff! I have my boxes of stuff that are not for touching by anyone but me. I always wished i had STUFF that my mom had saved for me to look at. Old newspapers, school papers, clothing, etc... So I am doing this for my son and daughter. One mans garbage is another mans goldmine.Comment from mrscheesestix - 12/31/03 1:53 PM
Growing up, my parents never saved a thing. Needless to say, I save everything. I want my kids to be able to come to me and take things from their childhoods into their future lives. I can't decide what to keep and what to throw away, so I save everything (neatly).Comment from karensull12 - 12/30/03 8:27 PM
Yuck. This reminds me of my closet. Sometimes when it gets too overwhelming, I just go back to bed! LOLComment from hillareeday - 12/30/03 4:03 PM
Kat, you'd better never audition for that show on TLC. I forget what it's called, but they re-design two rooms in your home and REALLY consolidate down. They're like organization gurus. And they make you get rid of A LOT of your stuff. It gets vicious sometimes. Tempers flare. Fights ensue. Tears threaten.Heh, heh, heh.Comment from andreakingme - 12/30/03 3:46 PM
haha my now ex husband pulled the "its either me or the stuff" routine on me .. he's gone now and i still have my STUFF lolthen my daughter tried to get me to throw away my stuff .. i told her she can go live with her dad and i'd have more room for MORE stuff .. so she let it drop heheain't nobody coming between me and my stuffnosiree:)pamelaComment from his1desire - 12/30/03 10:37 AM
My name is Grody, and I AM A PACKRAT. Its true and I suck at throwing things out. Even things that do not fit and never will
Hello fellow pack-rat! My hubby is as bad as me--no, worse. I never touch his stuff, but when I try to de-clutter my stuff, he goes thru the trash & rescues things. Once I tried to throw away the same watermelon-shaped sponge about three times, and it just kept re-materializing elsewhere in the house! I think I finally gave up & it's still here somewhere! Happy New Year!Comment from donah42 - 12/30/03 9:33 AM
Tell hubby to keep his hands off your stuff. There are some things that even marriage doesn't entitle you to do. Yes, it's just stuff, but there IS a such thing as sentimental value. Tell him to get over it. Lisa :-]Comment from mlraminiak - 12/30/03 1:46 AM
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