Stuff, things,junk, objects

[Cat]

I have way too much...stuff. Clothes, bags, shoes....crap I do not need. I am going to do a Goodwill run very soon...though parting with my bags will be hardest (I cannot give up any of the kitty ones...they cats on them look at me accusingly...I swear!)

My mother constantly buys me...well...crap I hate to say. Clothes I will never wear, and I feel guilty tossing them..so I hold on to them til she forgets about them then I donate. (Asked her for the 100th time recently to stop it....I don;t think it sunk in )

Really trying to minimalise my items, but it is hard since I do have a rabid bag adiction, and I like buying hiking gear (there are some sandals I really want)

Also I have pack-rat hoarding tendancies..so donating is really really hard.

Any other pack-rate out there tryng to limit their good?

(they are really cute sandals!)

[AdminAssistant]

I'm a little bit of a pack rat...but my current issue is making room for the boyfriend. I've been in this apartment for nearly 2 years, and it's full. Now he wants to move in....oh dear. He doesn't have much in the way of furniture, just a computer desk and maybe a recliner. The major challenge is going to be closet space. *sigh*

[dalesys]

...The major challenge is going to be closet space. *sigh*

You're letting him wear clothes?!

[AdminAssistant]

You're letting him wear clothes?!

Only outside. As soon as he steps in the door...it's PANTS OFF. (BTW, he would be perfectly A-OK with that arrangement. )

[Cat]

Ugh, just looked around my place, and the amount of crap I acquired is sickening (and most of it ain't stuff I bought) Actually got pretty upset about it...just so hard to started getting rid of it

Blah. Need a kitty!


Kitteh says it too hot to cuddle. Considering shaving said kitteh.

[Kittish]

Hi, my name is Kittish, and I'm a pack-rat.

Best cure I've found yet for pack ratting- get a job as a semi-truck driver and live in your truck. THAT will cure you of keeping extra stuff in a hurry. I went from a whole housefull of stuff to what I could, literally, pack into a car. My books were the hardest thing to cut back on.

These days, now that I'm settled again, I'm nothing like as extreme on the minimalism. In fact I need to go thru and cut down the clutter again.

Here's one possible idea. Get a friend to help you get rid of stuff. You sit off to one side while your friend goes thru the stuff under consideration, and do your very very best NOT to say 'no keep that one!'. That way the kitties are staring accusingly at HER (or him), not you. The theory behind this idea is that it'll be easier for you to let something go if you don't actually handle it yourself. You're just a referee there in case something shows up that REALLY shouldn't be in the 'going away' pile.

For the bags and the hiking gear, my general rule of thumb might work for you. If you haven't used an item in a year, then you probably never will, so get rid of it. So far as the bags go, take pictures of them. If you don't actually use the bags a picture serves the same purpose and doesn't take up nearly as much room. Limit yourself to keeping NO MORE than your 4 absolute favorites. And if you get a new bag, one of those 4 has to go.

That leads to another suggestion. Displacement. Redirect your worst pack rat habits into something slightly different. Instead of collecting bags, collect pictures of bags. Just think how many MORE pictures you can have before you even start to run out of room!! I've got my worst pack rat tendencies redirected into a couple of games I play, with in game items. People are constantly amazed at the quest and crafting materials I have on hand.

For doing the actual donating, again, have a friend help. Closed boxes or non-transparent bags are handy here too, as you can tell yourself 'we're just going to drop these boxes/bags off' and distract yourself from what's in said boxes and bags. To help with the distraction, plan a treat for yourselves after the drop off (ice cream, coffee, chocolate, whatever sinful consumable you prefer), and keep your mind on the upcoming treat. And it's best to do the drop off right away, to limit your temptation for going thru the boxes and bags and pulling stuff out.

[Cat]

Thanks for the suggestions, Kittish I was actually able to bag up about 6 more bags of stuff to donate.....I ran outta garbage bags!! lol. STill cannot give up the kitty bags yet, they will be the last to go. All the hiking gear is used (not as once! hahaha)

Need to find a friend I can bribe with food to help me clean, ha. The bf is unsupportive...I mentioned I was upset and all I got was a sad face emoticon.

Tomorrow's weather might me nasty, so I'll use to tomorrow for more purging....the extra room that hold all the stuff has no light....must clean in daylight, haha.

Thanks again for the suggestions and 'listening'

[Der Cute]

Hehe.
I used to be more of a pack rat, but I've turned into a clutter lover.

Right now, I've got a box full of baby clothes, ones that are too small, but I'm too lazy to put them out on Craigslist. Argh. And the little person keeps growing ....

cutenoob

[Becks]

The MOTH™ and his parents have had many a cow over the amount of clothing I own.

My answer? Wonder hangers. I just need more.

[Cat]

Again, I am a hyopcrite. I ordered the sandals...which I guess is good...mt feet hurt after walking an hour in the ones I have.

I do have about 10 bags of crap to donate....will have to remember to do that this weekend....and buy more garbage bags

[Exaspera]

Again, I am a hyopcrite. I ordered the sandals...which I guess is good...mt feet hurt after walking an hour in the ones I have.

I do have about 10 bags of crap to donate....will have to remember to do that this weekend....and buy more garbage bags

Good for you! I bet that was a little difficult.

[Evil Queen]

I, too, am a packrat of the nth degree. I spent years and years and years in one place and suddenly the need to GTFO hit. The traveling bug, so to speak, has bitten me and I find myself with the Wanderlust disease.

Problem with that is Uhaul rentals are expensive and my car doesn't have a towing package. It's not powerful enough.

But I must say, I was a madman trying to figure out what to keep and what to leave and what to trash. My only concern was that I had enough of my stuff to feel at home where ever I went and that it all fit in my 4-door Saturn.

But, really, I didn't miss the stuff I was getting rid of. I just got rid of anything I hadn't used in the previous six months. Did I use this over winter? Yes? No? Keep? Trash? Simple as that.

We didn't have a good will where I lived but we did have the "puppy place" which was a small thrift store that donated all the proceeds to the human society. It was great and I enjoyed spending money there.

[trailerparkmedic]

If you find yourself regretting what you've decided to donate before you donate it (eg you put it in the trashbag but the trashbag never makes it to your car), try Freecycle. Once you've committed to giving it away to someone it might be easier to let go.

My rule of thumb is "Do I want to move this item and find a place for it in the new apartment?" I'm not currently planning on moving soon but I've moved so often it's kind of stuck in my head. A good example is shoes. I love shoes, especially impractical heels I don't wear often. In the new apartment, I had very little space to put them. I got an organizer that hangs on the back of my door and pared down my shoes so that I only had enough to fit in the organizer. If I want new (non daily use) shoes, I have to get rid of a pair first, because otherwise I won't have a place to put them in a new apartment.

[Cat]

That's kinda what spurred this....I wanna move soon...I probably won't, as I have no job prospects in my chosen state, but I want that option to haul ass north if I do get the chance.

Goodwill picks up on Saturday, I'm going to try to have 5 more bags for them. That's enough for a week.

[AccountingDrone]

I dont give a care about clothing, or furniture, or very much of the other material goods, but I have difficulties parting with books ..

So I started scanning in the paperbacks that are falling apart, so I could toss them out.

I will probably keep a few hundred of my hardbacks, mainly signed books and certain reference books that are image intense. Ultimately I want to be able to move everything I own in a minivan. Anvil case makes a military case that holds electronics and turns into a computer desk, and they have a large rolling wardrobe case that has hanging clothing on one side, and drawers on the other.

*sigh*