Time to declutter
October 14th, 2003 | Published in Personal | 16 Comments
I am trying to get a grip on my things as I organise my packing.
I look around and suddenly the thought strikes me. I am a collector.
A rabid collector. There is nothing I don’t collect.
Bills. Statements. Books. Cassettes. Restaurant order slips. Doctor’s prescriptions. Ball point pens. Brochures and those little flyers about savings accounts, insurance, credit points (which I never use). Packets. Boxes. Newspapers. Magazines. Shoes (falling apart). Notebooks. Lipsticks. Shampoo bottles. Memos. Bits and pieces of paper from god knows when. Bus/train/airplane tickets. Photocopies of certificates (not in singles, but multiples). Letters. Notes. Water bottles. And all from years and years ago. Stuff that I have absolutely no use for today.
Why do I do it? I have no idea. I keep thinking I might need that particular bill/note/object someday in the future. As if!
I find it difficult to throw away stuff. I’m turning into my father, I think. Dad loves to collect newspapers. He has newspapers, probably from the year I was born. (And that my dear folks, was a very long time ago). Probably before that too. He has noble intentions organising newspapers cuttings and arranging them in a scrapbook (or something). But it’s never happened. So over the years (and years) he’s been collecting and collecting. And now, back home, we have these giant piles of newspaper everywhere you lay your eyes on.
Hubby on the other hand has totally another reason he never finds anything. He’s totally opposite of me — he doesn’t hang onto anything. Not even important phone numbers! I doubt he even has any of his certificates!
Mine however, is organised clutter, if there is any such thing. All my paper stuff is filed (under categories). I have files for everything. I might take some time finding something, but I do eventually find it!
But that’s no excuse really. I have to get back and throw away some of the junk that I’ve gathered over the years.
God almighty, where did all this stuff come from?!
(Inspired by Anita’s link to Declutter 101)
October 15th, 2003 at 11:08 pm (#)
haha!!!rabid collector..it really sounds nice.all the best with the sorting out and packing. btw , u didntmention any intention of sorting stuff out and discarding the unwanted ones…so is there such an intention or not????:)
October 16th, 2003 at 1:37 am (#)
यह काम कभी नहीं होने वाला!
October 16th, 2003 at 11:40 am (#)
Anu: What I was trying to say is that what is that though my intention is to discard stuff, I land up hoarding most of it since I can’t seem to throw things away!
October 17th, 2003 at 2:10 pm (#)
Same here. I collect so many unncessary junk.. even movie tickets, train tickets, notes.. but not newspapers :)
October 17th, 2003 at 10:48 pm (#)
sounds very familier :-) having moved bags — practically every three years of my life ! what amazes me is that my junk has not reduced a bit — the contents vary of course, dependning on the stage of my evolution in life :-) if it was pebbles and shells during my growing up years, it is clippings and “resource” material today, stoved away in a corner — but never opened !!
October 19th, 2003 at 3:29 am (#)
Organised clutter is a phrase I use for my stuff too :)
BTW, why would you keep shampoo bottles ?
October 19th, 2003 at 11:21 pm (#)
Is this not how we go about our life? Carrying the excess baggage throughout our ‘journey’. Things people said that hurt us, made us unhappy long long time ago..Things we are not able to shed away. Even if they do us no good and only slow us down and add to the discomfort.. Only if we could choose what we carry forward and what we can leave behind, life would be far more pleasant and peaceful..If only we could..
October 20th, 2003 at 12:13 pm (#)
Are you behind the viewfinder yet? Made any decisions?
October 20th, 2003 at 3:52 pm (#)
Hi Anita…I collect loads of stuff too, I have a 5 yr old toothbrush too, coudln’t throw that away! I collect airline tickets and restaurant bills! lol…ohh yeah and Menu cards too!
October 20th, 2003 at 9:11 pm (#)
it is in polish. i was born in poland but temporary i‘m living in switzerland.
and i hadn‘t my own cat before. now i have over 20 cats…
but my dog had to stay at home with the rest of my faily…
what a pity i don‘t speak french… last time i‘ve been speaking english was about 5 years ago…
October 20th, 2003 at 10:30 pm (#)
How does your father find place to store so many newspapers? And what do you do with those flyers?!
October 21st, 2003 at 12:08 pm (#)
Always wanted to fly, be one with the air
Well, one way > http://www.airandadventure.com.
Will change your life, nothing lahe lahe about it…
October 24th, 2003 at 4:36 pm (#)
Just 2 wish u a very Happy Diwali ! Have fun :)
October 27th, 2003 at 12:02 pm (#)
Have a happy diwali and a prosperous new year.
October 27th, 2003 at 1:27 pm (#)
even I have the habit of holding onto things, even though I know I don’t have any use for them… but it’s difficlut to let go!!! LOL
October 30th, 2003 at 9:34 am (#)
Perhaps you should throw yourself away from the house, along with your comp and blog. That, I am sure, will get rid of a lot of trash and clutter :)
lol. just kidding. Happy cleaning up.…
–US