Before the week of uncluttering - Part Zwei

More about the process I've taken in "uncluttering" my life.

Suffice to say, I am still working on the "before the week of uncluttering" step. I had no idea (ok, maybe an inkling) that this part would be the most difficult! I can tell that by my overly confident tone in my previous entry! "This shouldn't take me long..." "I only have a couple of boxes..." I had seriously convinced myself that I did not have 10 boxes of sentimental items to go through!

The textbooks, college items and silly momentos like a huge pin from a NKOTB concert circa 1992 were easy to laugh at keeping and easy to rid myself of! However, I have stared at this pile in my office now for a couple of weeks. The pile consists of papers, photos and writings that I have kept and hauled around with me for over 20 years. I began to question why it would be so hard to go through these things. I'd tell myself I was going to do it "this weekend" and then walk into the room and promptly turn around.

I dug into the photos just a little one day and found pictures of trips, old friends, old boyfriends, deceased friends & relatives, funeral clippings, a photo I knew had been taken after crying all the way to school that day. I stopped short after a few photos. I thought those would be easier!

I cringed looking at all of the writings I had yet to go through. I reflected that many times when I wrote it was to express pain, hurt or confusion. I had read and re-read these in the past and it didn't feel good to relive my teen/tween angst.

Today I decided I would go through the writings. Total number? 125 and I know it's an incomplete collection. As I read them at this age, I see that it's usual teen stuff, but always mine felt so much more magnified. (Of course it did! ) I realized I had attended 6 funerals between 1992-1995 and wondered why I'd never quantified it that way before or thought of how much loss I'd had for such a young person. Why did I never connect the dots to those horrible experiences and my awful thoughts?

They weren't all that awful - in fact, I was floored by what I read. How good some of it was (even for a 17-year-old) and wondered why in recent years I don't write more. I don't really have anything of substance since 1997. I did return to college that year and saved my "good" research papers. I've written nothing for pleasure again until this year. Atleast nothing I thought worth saving, anyway.

Today was a good exercise in taking an honest look at my own abilities. I've been complimented over the years for my writing skills. It comes so easily to me, that I'm always taken by surprise when a compliment rolls my way. I am the one who thinks I can't write.

I thought I would honestly end up burning the pile. Instead, I'm adding a new goal for 2010. I will write more. As anyone knows, if you find something that you enjoy doing and you are good at it, you feel a sense of accomplishment like no other.

And here I thought this was simply a cleaning project!

More to come on this endeavor...

Before the week of uncluttering...

So, I've begun the journey of "Uncluttering" my life in 2010.  To kick it off, I even purchased the book Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland.  I appreciated the emotional and psychological approach to asking "Why am I holding on to this item?  What am I saving it for?"

I've created a list of things that come to mind when I close my eyes and focus on the good things in life and all the things that make me happy as recommended in the book. They all neatly fall into 4 categories of Family, Holistic/Health, Hobbies & Friends. This list serves as my motivation for the process and I can refer to it when I feel like giving up.

Do you suffer from "Sentimental Crap Syndrome?" If my very use of this term stings or makes you cringe a bit, then you probably do.

Before the week of uncluttering, I am charged with the task of removing sentimental clutter from my life. I've gone through these items before, so I don't have much and my kids aren't that old. BUT, I know now there are things I can do differently instead of continuing to haul them around. (i.e. 8 rolls of developed photos from a summer in Germany)

Here are some very abbreviated tips, but I thought worth sharing!

• Take digital pictures of objects and save with a note in the description of the file. (Take a cool picture of it to display in your home!)
• Scan papers & pictures and turn into digital files
• Inherit a set of fine china you will never use? Keep a place setting for display and share the rest. This applies to "sets" of anything.
• Repurpose old clothing or fabrics into a blanket or functional item
• Buddy up - research shows the more you touch & look at an item, the more it conjures up attachment. Have a friend hold up items for you if this is something that is hard for you.
• Pass it on, re-gift or donate to charity of you are not using it - this includes gifts from friends/family that just don't fit with your home, color scheme or tastes. If someone is bold (and rude) enough to ask you about a gift they've given you, just tell them you don't have it on display right now. They'll get it. (or not)
• Once you throw something out, get rid of it as soon as possible, don't keep walking by it.
• As a general rule, if you are keeping sentimental items, they should be on display or used on a regular basis in your home.

What items are you hanging onto that you cannot seem to rid of?  Do you know why?  I'd love to hear from you.