I embarked on a massive, death-defying adventure yesterday. Braving heat and layers of dust, and with the help of my trusty sidekick, Gilbert (whom you will recall as my literacy pupil), I decided to empty out my commercial storage space! (cue primitive drumming and surging dramatic music)
Needless to say, I spent most of last night sneezing uncontrollably, due to the dust. I still have a lot of unpacking to do today, and I have stocked up on Kleenex as a precaution.
Like Indiana Jones, I am uncovering rare antiquities like:
Old photo albums I thought I had lost. Some really nice pictures of my family, which I was very happy to see.
A framed copy of VP Tsuji's "zange" guidance (remember that?)
Ladies' size 8 clothing (you heard me -- size 8!)
I also had some articles of furniture in storage, and I gave those to Gilbert. He makes regular trips to Mexicali, Maxico, where he gives stuff away to the poor. I figure if someone can actually use my old furniture, that's better than me paying to keep it in storage.
The cats are quite bewildered by the whole thing. They have been sniffing around the boxes, which I moved from my patio into my living room, where the boxes form a sort of mountain. The top box (almost six feet up) has an old sofa pillow on top of it, which Wobbly has decided is the perfect place to nap while maintaining control over her domain. It gives her a great line of sight to the door and also to the food bowl, so she can be "on top of things" if Elvis comes through the kitchen window to chow down on some kibble.
There is no way I can fit all this stuff into my apartment in anything resembling an orderly fashion. And I also have a junk room to clean out! Has anyone out there had any experience with this kind of thing? I feel completely overwhelmed by my stuff.
This is where the hero is supposed to come in, like Indiana Jones and get me a fabulous museum contract for my "antiquities", or better yet, just crack his whip at the boxes and make them disappear in a puff of smoke.
Ack!
Oh, well - I will keep you up to date on any further adventures.
Stay tidy, stay organized, stay cool.
Byrd in LA
Posted by wahzoh at April 30, 2008 02:29 PMClutter is a part of my life Byrd-- have been doing MAJOR downsizing over the last two years. 1800 sq foot house and 1200 sq foot office into 1300 sq foot town house. Selling books, giving away books, giving away tschotskies. Freecycle, craigslist and two yard sales.
About to have another move-- likely into a small 2 bedroom apt in a couple of months-- so time to decrease the load.
These days, if I bring anything new into the house, something old HAS to go out.
Battered women's shelters, homeless shelters and Boys and Girls clubs--love books and magazines in good condition.
We have SO much in the US-- even those of us not flush with cash-- great way to live simply so others can simply live....
Dusting with a damp cloth and wearing a face mask really help with dusty stuff.
My rule when dealing with this sort of thing is to be brutal and absolute in letting go of my clutter.
Take it to a thriftshop! Someone could use it!
Bribe a friend who loves to organize OCD! with promises of dinner and allow them to help you downsize. I know that feeling of being overwhelmed. I am sentimental and end up saving all kinds of stuff I should throw out. once you do it you will feel lighter! good for you!
Byrd, I'm helpless in such situations, because I keep everything. Dana (lovely wife) on the other hand has no problem throwing anything away, unless she's carefully catalogued it and filed it away. You need one of her.
She'll go through my thirty-year-old stuff when I'm not around and simply dispose of it. When I ask about something (which happens rarely), she'll fess up, but it's no big deal. The only thing I regret is the box of old Marvel comics from the 60s. (My second wife threw that out, not Dana.) There's probably other stuff I would regret not having, except I don't remember it anyway, so I guess it's okay. Know what I mean?
Here's a little prayer I've recently adopted:
Senility Prayer
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do,
And the eyesight to tell the difference.
Amen.
Good luck.
Andy
Posted by: Andy Hanlen at May 1, 2008 03:59 PMAndy - I love that senility prayer.
Byrd - Maybe Sarge and I can come down sometime and help. Though we have plenty of junk here to go through ourselves, both being packrats.
Posted by: Michele at May 1, 2008 04:14 PM