June 27, 2011
Some self-discovery is necesssary to determine if you keep too much stuff. Be honest with yourself and answer this question:
Do I keep too much “stuff”?
Only you can answer this question. If you said, ‘yes” or you aren’t sure if you keep too much stuff, read on.
I want to stop here and say that none of the content on this blog addresses hoarding. Hoarding is a much different ball game, if you will, and should be discussed with professionals who specifically deal with hoarding. If you suspect you are a hoarder, you might want to consider visiting the site below:
http://metropolitanorganizing.com/blogs/geralin/2011/05/geralin-i-think-i-may-be-hoarder
Now then, how will you know if you keep too much stuff ? Give some sincere thought to the following questions. If you can answer yes to two or more, you might have too much stuff.
Do you:
- put items in the corner of a closet, the attic, or some other place (because you plan to deal with it later) and then 6-12 months later you run upon it and think to yourself, “I should use this” or you think to yourself, “I should get rid of this”, but you keep it anyway, or you lay it aside for a decision about its fate at a later date?
- routinely move lots of items to get to the one you want, and you need to do this throughout each space you occupy; garage, tool box, house, closets, etc.? (This could be due to lack of organization, or the fact that you have too much stuff.)
- know you have difficulty letting go of things?
- believe you can’t let go of it because you equate throwing it away with throwing money away (even though you never use it). I’ll talk about how to prevent this money waster in a future article?
- tell other people you should get rid of some things, but_________ (fill in your favorite justification or excuse)?
- KNOW that you keep too much stuff but don’t know what or how to eliminate stuff?
- run upon an item and say to yourself or even out loud, “I forgot I had this.” or “I can’t get rid of this; I paid good money for this.”?
- believe the more stuff you have the more worth you have?
- fear losing the memory of an item so you keep it even though you don’t use it and it is taking up valuable space?
Below are some additional thoughts that might indicate you keep too much stuff.
- You learned how to keep stuff from your parents who grew up during the great depression and, out of necessity, kept everything?
- You notice people routinely move items off of the couch or chair so they can sit down.
- People casually mentioned how much stuff you have? (Yes, there are some people who do this, sometimes family members who do not live with you.)
- You notice your frustration level escalates quickly when looking for an item because you need to dig through so many things to find it.
Stay tuned, there’s more good things to come. Have a terrific day!
All content Copyright Barbara Nichols 2011
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