As I mentioned earlier, I'm on a neverending round of spring cleaning. I started tracking my spending recently, and discovered that I spend way too much money. I've been trying to spend less money, and also to simplify my life. I'm also feeling a little anxious, and organizing is one of the ways I cope with that.
Of course, there are places where I get stuck when cleaning, so I'm enumerating them here. If you have possible solutions, I'm all ears.
Roadblock: Books Other People Gave Me
I have no problem getting rid of books I bought myself. If I don't want them anymore, out they go. But books other people bought me, well. They bought them for me for a reason. I'm sure they chose them the same way I chose the books I've given them. (Let me say now: if I've given you a book and you don't want it [anymore], please do give it away or sell it or whatever. [As a general rule, I disapprove of throwing away or burning books, so please don't do that unless there's some sort of infestation or flooding issue that makes it the right thing to do.]) So I feel guilty about wanting to get rid of them. It's even worse with books people have given me that I haven't read and am pretty sure I'm never going to read. My guilt is only doubled by the fact that if they pay attention to my book lists, they'll know that I didn't read it.
Roadblock: Personal Souvenirs
This brings me to another category that includes items people gave me, things that fall into the category of souvenirs. I have a wineglass from a friend's wedding with the bride and groom's names and the wedding date on it that I really don't want. I have something someone made for me that I know I'll never use. I have t-shirts I'll probably never wear again but that I'm not sure I can get rid of (the PV Grad Night one with the entire graduating class listed on the back, for example).
Roadblock: Other People's Sentimental Attachments
There were a few things in my house that I didn't even consider as possibilities of things I could get rid of. My eyes just passed right over them. I finally realized those were things my mom's mom gave me. They don't have any sentimental or other value to me anymore, but I felt compelled to keep them because my mom might have some sort of attachment to them. This wasn't a groundless assumption, either. When my mom and I cleaned out her house seven years ago, she had all kinds of stuff that she'd taken from her mom's house when she died. It wasn't anything my mom was going to use; she just wasn't ready to let go of it because it had been her mom's.
Roadblock: Jewelry
I have a lot of jewelry, and I wear jewelry maybe six times a year. There have been times in my life, however, when I've worn jewelry every day. I don't want to get rid of all my jewelry because I might go back to that. I also don't want to get rid of all of it because I think I now actually own every possible length of silver chain. (This will probably be proved false next time I need a silver chain to match an outfit.) Part of the problem with organizing my jewelry is that I don't have a good place to keep it. I own three jewelry boxes I hate and a cloth rolling thing for jewelry that I like but isn't particularly conducive to organizing neatly.
Roadblock: Dresser
The top of my dresser is basically a clutter trap. Stuff just accumulates there. (Including jewelry I've worn recently. It's a lot easier to just leave it there than it is to put it away in the cloth rolling thing. And by "recently," I may mean a period of time up to a year.) I really only use the top two drawers of my dresser. I've also had my dresser ever since I can remember. What if I get rid of it and then decide later on that I really do want a dresser, and that particular one? I could probably leave it in the playhouse at my parents', but I don't want to be the kind of person who stores stuff away with other people. I've been thinking about putting it in the closet and seeing if I like that or if that makes me more amenable to getting rid of it. The downside is that it'll narrow my closet a bit, possibly enough to make it uncomfortable.
Of course, there are places where I get stuck when cleaning, so I'm enumerating them here. If you have possible solutions, I'm all ears.
Roadblock: Books Other People Gave Me
I have no problem getting rid of books I bought myself. If I don't want them anymore, out they go. But books other people bought me, well. They bought them for me for a reason. I'm sure they chose them the same way I chose the books I've given them. (Let me say now: if I've given you a book and you don't want it [anymore], please do give it away or sell it or whatever. [As a general rule, I disapprove of throwing away or burning books, so please don't do that unless there's some sort of infestation or flooding issue that makes it the right thing to do.]) So I feel guilty about wanting to get rid of them. It's even worse with books people have given me that I haven't read and am pretty sure I'm never going to read. My guilt is only doubled by the fact that if they pay attention to my book lists, they'll know that I didn't read it.
Roadblock: Personal Souvenirs
This brings me to another category that includes items people gave me, things that fall into the category of souvenirs. I have a wineglass from a friend's wedding with the bride and groom's names and the wedding date on it that I really don't want. I have something someone made for me that I know I'll never use. I have t-shirts I'll probably never wear again but that I'm not sure I can get rid of (the PV Grad Night one with the entire graduating class listed on the back, for example).
Roadblock: Other People's Sentimental Attachments
There were a few things in my house that I didn't even consider as possibilities of things I could get rid of. My eyes just passed right over them. I finally realized those were things my mom's mom gave me. They don't have any sentimental or other value to me anymore, but I felt compelled to keep them because my mom might have some sort of attachment to them. This wasn't a groundless assumption, either. When my mom and I cleaned out her house seven years ago, she had all kinds of stuff that she'd taken from her mom's house when she died. It wasn't anything my mom was going to use; she just wasn't ready to let go of it because it had been her mom's.
Roadblock: Jewelry
I have a lot of jewelry, and I wear jewelry maybe six times a year. There have been times in my life, however, when I've worn jewelry every day. I don't want to get rid of all my jewelry because I might go back to that. I also don't want to get rid of all of it because I think I now actually own every possible length of silver chain. (This will probably be proved false next time I need a silver chain to match an outfit.) Part of the problem with organizing my jewelry is that I don't have a good place to keep it. I own three jewelry boxes I hate and a cloth rolling thing for jewelry that I like but isn't particularly conducive to organizing neatly.
Roadblock: Dresser
The top of my dresser is basically a clutter trap. Stuff just accumulates there. (Including jewelry I've worn recently. It's a lot easier to just leave it there than it is to put it away in the cloth rolling thing. And by "recently," I may mean a period of time up to a year.) I really only use the top two drawers of my dresser. I've also had my dresser ever since I can remember. What if I get rid of it and then decide later on that I really do want a dresser, and that particular one? I could probably leave it in the playhouse at my parents', but I don't want to be the kind of person who stores stuff away with other people. I've been thinking about putting it in the closet and seeing if I like that or if that makes me more amenable to getting rid of it. The downside is that it'll narrow my closet a bit, possibly enough to make it uncomfortable.