View Full Version : The Slow-Growing Cancer of Clutter
Only now that I have taken most everything off my walls do I really see how cluttered my home of twenty years had become! I am finding I really like how restful it is to see blank walls!
Each day for the last two weeks has been so productive: my basement is almost empty except a pile of things I am going to give away to friends, two folding tables which I am taking with me, my friend's safe that I had been storing for her (to be picked up this weekend, I hope), the washer and dryer (which hopefully will go to the next tenants), an dmy camping equipment (which I am taking but it is in three neat little piles that fit exactly in the trunk of my car).
I have pretty much gotten rid of all the superfluous stuff except some large furniture that is being picked up soon. The stuff I want to take is being put into the spare bedroom and packed, the rest of the stuff I still need to use for the next few weeks. I have tried very hard to recycle what can be recycled, and to take things to the thrift shops. I have thrown very little away as outright trash.
I spent the better part of the week on and off cleaning out my oven and broiler. I don't think I have ever done it in the twenty years I've lived here. I don't recommend leaving it that long :~)
I am down to the nitty-gritty - there is stuff that I really, really like, both visually and emotionally, that I am not sure I have the room for. I may end up with room in the trailer, but no where to put it when I get to New Mexico. Each day I reduce the amount of special decorative stuff by putting the I-don't-knows away so I can't see them. After a few days I then decide if I can live without them. It's definitely a process!
Tonight I was SO happy to give some artwork to one of my best buddy's, the guy I've played music with for the last en years. I gave him my latest art guitar and he chose one of my mixed media found object collages right off the wall. It made me feel so good!
My other collages will be dealt with in a similar manner. I will let my daughter take first pick, and then I am going to post them on my Facebook page and invite my friends to "bid" on the one they would like. I'm not going to charge money for the but I certainly wouldn't mind getting a little monetary donation in any amount towards the moving cause. I hope I can get rid of all the artwork this way so I don't have to pitch any into the dumpster!
I'm right there with with you on the packing and moving healing process. I have ten days left and the amount of stuff that has left this cocoon of 16 years along with their attached emotions is amazing. It is a wonderful feeling when someone really likes what they acquire from you. There is still so much to do. I read that a good trick when one is feeling anxious about something life-changing like this is to substitute the work "anxious" with "exciting". Isn't this exciting? It really is...
As I am finally sorting out and setting up my pantry after 18 months of living in my new home, I strongly recommend discarding by any means (donation, etc) any dry foods or other and their storage. I moved too much and realized that I should have simply discarded at the time of packing - herbs, containers, and anything to do with food or its storage. You will free up a lot more space now and buy what you really need in your new location. Voice of hard experience.:doh:
You guys are awesome in your efforts, BTW. It is exciting to read about it!
I'm also feeling the cleaning and decluttering pain -- and sometimes joy. We're selling our apartment in Beijing and this is probably my last trip back here, so I'm trying to get rid of as much stuff as we can so that DH doesn't have to deal with it on his own. Have spent the better part of the last week sorting/purging/listing stuff on local yahoo groups for sale. Looks like I will net over $1000 for what I am able to sell, so that is rewarding. But it has been exhausting, both physically and mentally. DH has not been much help because he is not happy about the move and dealing with depression/mid life crisis. He did say he will start on his stuff tomorrow (I have just about completed the rest of the house, at least in terms of identifying what needs to go).
DH has surprised me with our move. At first, he was very reluctant to part with things - especially any of his vast camera collection. But then the reality hit him that we have to leave and he went into high gear tossing, craigslisting and making multiple trips to Goodwill. I think he was somewhat embarrassed and overwhelmed by all that he had accumulated. SiouxQ doesn't have the encumbrances of people and pets - that I envy. Trying to do all this with three pets is not making it any easier except that they provide some comic relief.
TVRodriguez
7-20-16, 8:37pm
Wow, impressed with all the progress being made by you all! I imagine that a move/sale really pushes you more than just the "someday" of wanting to clean stuff up. Keep on trucking!!
Wow, impressed with all the progress being made by you all! I imagine that a move/sale really pushes you more than just the "someday" of wanting to clean stuff up. Keep on trucking!!
Ditto - reading along and admiring everyone's progress. I also agree that Craigslist is great - I listed 2 loveseats and a coffee table for free and they were picked up in 48 hours by the first person who responded.
Yesterday, I counted up all the bills from Craigslisting that I had been stuffing away - $1900 - and then I remembered another $50 in some pants pocket from a week ago. Figured I better stick most of it in the bank with all the chaos around here I might lose it. The funny thing is I don't miss any of it and the money can be used for all the moving expenses.
Teacher Terry
7-21-16, 2:18pm
Great that you made money!
The clutter is mostly gone and now its the big stuff that is leaving the house. The big futon couch was picked up yesterday, the washing machine will be picked up this morning, and a load of other items are going to be picked up by the consignment shop later today. The living room will be virtually empty by this evening!
The rest of the week will be spent organizing and setting up stuff for my open house on the weekend. I will bring up my two folding tables from the basement and use those to set out the art work and other random housewares I need to get rid of.
I have 12 days to go and I can't believe how relatively easy it has been to disassemble this house! Six weeks was a perfect amount of time to get it all done; now I am just waiting to go. My last week in Michigan is going to be a breeze - I will have already quit work, so I have lots of time to do last minute hikes and see people and enjoy myself! It all couldn't have worked out better (better knock on wood here though, so I don't jinx myself somehow!
I will look so forward to hearing of your new journey and adventures in life.
An eventful weekend in the ongoing journey of reaching minimalist nirvana: the first day of my open house resulted in my 1970's gas dryer leaving the basement and going to an friend for free (she did end up picking out a necklace and some other household goods and insisted I take $40), another friend picked up her large art collage and a pair of earrings, and insisted on giving me $60, my futon bed frame went up the street to my neighbor for $25. Yet another musician friend picked up his Art Guitar that he picked out of stash, and also took a smaller mixed media collage - he gave me $20 (I really didn't want to take his money because I know he is broke but he wouldn't hear of it).
I went out to dinner with my mom, daughter, sister and her husband and they gave me a going away gift of $50.
So aside from the fact I accumulated a bit of money yesterday, more important was the feeling I got from these friends and aquaintances - warmth, support and love from people I had increasingly grown apart from during my four years working at Wholefoods; my "fault" in a way due to a variety of reasons that I allowed to get in the way of really living my life. I realize just how much I had let work "define" ALL of my actions because of the schedule and the energy required to do that kind of job, etc. I let so much fall away, year by year. It's not like I HATED the job, but it sure had high costs. Yet is was the exact stepping stone I needed to have in order to get me to this point in my life, and for that, I am grateful that I have landed in the position I am in now, ready to take on the world again!
So Day 2 of the Open House should result in my large futon lounger chair going away, some more artwork and jewelry, a vintage drafting chair and other various household items. Anything left over will be distributed to the local thrift shop and recycle center on Monday. My mattress (on the floor right now) will go to my daughter on Wednesday (I'll have to sleep on my camping pad for two days). I have to break down my big old computer desk and get it out to the dumpster, as I think there is no hope in recycling it off to anyone else. Then a bunch of packing of what is left and cleaning, and I pick up the U-Haul trailer sometime on Thursday!
Chicken lady
8-7-16, 8:07am
Wow SiouzQ! You are on an amazing and inspiring journey!
Wow, SiouzQ, you've gotten a lot done. Is there anyway to check with the next person moving into your space and see if they could use the computer desk?
Also a friend suggested using a trailer hitch lock to increase the odds of your trailer and contents getting all the way to NM with you.
http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/trailer-hitch-locks
Teacher Terry
8-7-16, 4:02pm
The lock is a good idea because a friend of mine had someone steal his entire uhaul trailer while he was sleeping in a motel.
I was wondering about that. I will check into it tomorrow.
I just got rid of so much stuff today, I am blown away by my friends who have come over and taken whatever they want. I'm having a BLAST getting rid of all this stuff, giving it to people who can use it! I have a HUGE pocketful of cash to take to the bank tomorrow too! There is very little left that I need to take to the thrift store tomorrow!
Congratulations on removing so much Clutter SiouzQ. My wife and I started doing the same about six months ago and its amazing just how much we still have left in our 2 bedroom apartment. We have been removing items at a slow pace unless you ask our family members who are very concerned with us giving away so many possessions lol. We just joined this forum yesterday and this is our first post. We listen to pod casts and youtube videos for encouragement and hope to find the same here:).
Welcome, Kenny:welcome: SiouxQ is having an amazing adventure and making lots of life-changing decisions with courage and enthusiasm. She is an inspiration.
Thank You for the welcome razz. I am glad I found this forum. Is there an easy answer of how to add a profile picture?
Teacher Terry
8-7-16, 6:15pm
Kenny, that is pretty funny that your family is worried about the stuff you are giving away. Welcome to the forum!!
Extremely worried lol, said they are going to put us on watch. So far we have removed some furniture, DVD's, lots and lots of clothes. Things of that nature nothing that I would have expected to cause concern lol. our feeling is if its not serving a function or purpose why are we holding on to it. Thanks of the welcome:)
When I gave my collection of Stephen King books away to a good home I made sure I told my family it wasn't like a suicidal preparation or anything :) It does feel good to get rid of things that are just clutter.
Great job Siouz, I am living a bit vicariously. I have a grandbaby coming so I am going to put adventures on hold for now,
Guess we should have warned friends and family, never crossed our minds that it would be a big deal to them lol. As we continue to remove clutter from our place we tried to think of things that we had already donated and couldn't actually remember what they were, guess thats just how insignificant they really were, but i Know at the time we would sit and look at something and say do we really want to give this away lol.
I'd suggest not telling family anything about this. They don't need to know and it just makes trouble.
Amazing how all the little incidental stuff that gets packed last actually takes up more room than you had planned...I've already culled things that I really thought I was going to take. We're getting down to the wire now; I pick up the trailer tomorrow. A lot of last minute stuff to do and organize at the house, but everything I am taking is packed and in the living room waiting to be loaded. The kitchen is pretty much torn down, so if I need to use a plate or something I will use my camping gear. I have a bit of cleaning to do tomorrow, but I got my laundry done today at the laundromat since I no longer have a washer and dryer.
On a happy, happy note, I had an awesome going-away party last night at a really cool new beer garden. Lots of friends and acquaintances came, there was a song circle happening (most of my friends are musicians), there was a lot of conversation, beer was drunk, a few tears were cried, and all remaining art work was distributed, thank god! That was quite a project but it all worked out!
Geez, I am tired, tired, and it is really hot here in Michigan. I'm going to rest for a while before I do the next thing tonight. T- minus 36 or so hours!
Will you be able to sleep tonight with excitement getting built up?
Teacher Terry
8-10-16, 5:23pm
Sounds like a fun party! So glad all your artwork found a good home.
I love reading your story as it unfolds.
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