I dislike clutter. I get stressed out if my workspace, or home is cluttered. I have this theory that clutter leads over spending. At least in my case it does. If I can’t see the back of the pantry, I don’t know what I have. I’m equally as likely to forget about the soup until it expires, or buy more of the salsa for which I already have three jars. (Like last week, sheesh Sarah, you know better!) Yet, no matter how much I hate it, I have a hard time getting rid of it. It’s still good, I might want it again.

The problem is I’m also extremely sentimental. I still have the Disney Music Days t-shirt from my high school senior band trip, the middle school musical t-shirt (which I still wear, by the way!). My sentimental nature doesn’t just extend to plausibly useful stuff. I have the Ticketmaster confirmation (not just the tickets, the confirmation) of the hockey game which was my first date with my husband. I just can’t stand to throw it out, it’s my memories! I’m also extremely frugal – those chips are only slightly expired, they may not be as crunchy but they are still editable! I also hate throwing out anything that could be useful one day, regardless of whether it is useful now, like the shower curtain from my first apartment when the last two homes I’ve lived in have had shower doors.

A while ago I came across this advice: take a picture. You can always look back at the picture and remember, and a picture doesn’t take up space. Shirts I never wear can be donated, Ticketmaster confirmations can be recycled, and we can better organize what we have left.

Every time I move something to the trash pile or the good will pile, I feel a twinge of sadness that it’s leaving my life. I will never hold it again. But the sadness doesn’t last. Still, I can’t completely change overnight. That shower curtain I mentioned? Okay, so that’s still in a box in the garage. Hey, no one is perfect! Each pass through the house, I’ll get a little better.

Good bye, stuff, and thanks for the memories! Although, it might be time to purchase a bigger hard drive. Good thing Black Friday is coming up!

Posted in Family Life | Tags: Spring Cleaning