Purge

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Do an internet search for help about organizing your life, and you inevitably end up looking at photos like this.

I find these pictures totally stinkin' hilarious. First off, this "closet" (more likely: a set built in a photographer's studio) is considerably larger than our living room. Secondly, it contains fewer clothes than Robb and I wear in a week.

But, hey, there's a room for the storage of this hypothetical person's red feather boa. So, clearly, that represents Real Life.

I'm still chipping away at my goal of decluttering my life.

Lately, I've been asking myself if I'm hanging onto things because they have a place in my current life. Am I storing things in hopes that some future life will have a use for them? Or am I holding onto them, because some past life had a use or desire for them? (Am I answering these questions, or just asking them? Well, maybe a Future Me will get around to that.)

Today, we did one of those cockamamie things that you're advised to do, when attempting to de-crapify one's life. We turned all of our hangers backwards on the closet bar. The idea is after you wear a garment, you re-hang it normally. And then when some magical period of time passes, you take a good hard look at all the clothes that you really haven't worn, and purge all the excess.

We'll see how well that works.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That red feather boa is SO last year.

I scorn that clean closet. I am much happier with the weird piles of stuff that move at the bottom of mine.

Annalisa
Ryan said…
Look at all that clutter! I don't even use that many shoes during a thru-hike, and I go through a lot of shoes during those!

-- Ryan
Anonymous said…
Dude, if you wear shoes like those whilst hiking, it's no wonder that they wear out so quickly!
Anonymous said…
I definitely empathize with your need to hold on to while wanting to let go of things. Through 42 years of marriage we have moved frequently. 5 people accumulate a lot of stuff; moving forces us to get rid of much of it. It is never easy. What might seem unnecessary now might be very missed at a later time. How do you decide? We all grapple with the issue, or we become inveterate hoarders. Kudos on your efforts.

Grinch
Christie said…
I don't know if you're interested or not, but for what it's worth Flylady.net has been helpful in helping me to declutter and organize. It's based on the principle of 15 minutes at a time. Just remember, you can't organize clutter.

Good luck,
SJ Honey Bunny (Christie)
Anonymous said…
we have been moving a lot lately, and that does the trick. it also helps that our homebase-house is 750 square feet (of love, 750 sq feet of love) i can't throw things away in good conscience, so i bundle up boxes and mail them to friends as random care packages. Eric calls it the "Here, YOU throw it away" plan.
-Vanessa
Anonymous said…
Purge.

That is the perfect name for what I have been doing for the last several weeks.

I can completely understand what you are going through. I recently lost my job and while I take some time to figure out what is next I have been attempting to clean up various rooms throughout the house.

I am currently in the "office" and am tackling the filing, which has not been updated in about 7 - 8 years. I have spent days tossing and shredding papers and still have days to go.

Everyone needs to purge the old once in awhile, even if they have the space to keep everything. I believe it is very theraputic. And while I can't wait to be finished I have enjoyed getting rid of everything.
Eliza said…
I recently read the Apartment Therapy Cure book. Most of it was fairly common sense, but it was so nice to have an organized approach to decluttering and organizing one's living space.

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