Hoarding. It’s gone on for too long & it’s time to get it under control. Marie Kondo’s method didn’t work on my brand of hoarding (tho she has helped SO MANY others, so do not count the Kondo Method out for yourself), but I found someone I think can help: Tracy McCubbin.
Tracy, the founder of dClutterfly, coined the phrase “declutter blocks,” and devised a quiz to help you identify which of the seven are affecting you:
- My stuff keeps me in the past
- My stuff tells me who I am
- I’m avoiding certain stuff
- I have fantasy stuff for my fantasy life
- I’m not worth my good stuff
- I’m trapped by other people’s stuff
- I’m still paying for this stuff
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m moving! The apartment I will live in will not have the abundant storage space I’ve been used to living at my dad’s house. So it’s time to address my years of literal emotional baggage.
I am not the typical hoarder. I don’t hoard just anything & I certainly don’t hoard garbage. My endless piles of stuff are categorically organized in storage tubs stacked 5 tall in the shed & basement. That being said, it’s nothing I need. Most of what I hold onto has “sentimental” value, but only to me.
I’m hoping Tracy’s more introspective method can help me, so here I go!
I have tubs of clothes I’ve had since I was a kid. I managed to save things like my first Steelers snapback, my junior prom shoes, even a t-shirt that was spray painted from a birthday party in the 3rd grade. Speaking of t-shirts, they’re honestly why my clothing hoard is all out of control. Some clothes are too fragile to keep wearing and washing, but I refuse to get rid of them. I finally got started prepping textiles for the t-shirt quilt I want to commission. I have t-shirts that should not have survived & it’s time to commemorate them permanently. I’m going thru ProjectRepat to have a custom full sized t-shirt quilt made of all my favorite memories. With the scraps, I’m making doll clothes for my aftercare students. (Addressed using blocks #1, #2, #4, #7)
My other, larger hoard is scrapbooking supplies. I started documenting my life at college in scrapbooks to keep trouble off my Facebook. I stopped halfway thru Junior year and haven’t caught up. It’s hard to go back because I’m not dating him anymore, I’m not living there anymore & she isn’t my best friend anymore. I’ve considered starting over & made one for the year 2018, but I’ve been slacking. Even still, I have and continue to hoard scrapbooking supplies: paper, stickers, ticket stubs, maps, tape, thread, glue – you name it & I probably have way too much of it. I’ve tried getting rid of things, but the nostalgia in me won’t have it. What I need to do is just make my scrapbooks. (Addressed using blocks #1, #3, #6)
I’m hoping that outright addressing this problem of mine will hold me more accountable. I know keeping myself on a timeline will be extremely helpful. My plan is to just keep chipping away at the bulk of it until I’m left with what’s truly important to me.
Neat & Messy 