How the heck did this happen?
Oy. And you may quote me. I've spent a good portion of today cleaning house (the sound you just heard was the peanut gallery going wild), and I still have so much left to do.
A friend recently asked me if I was a hoarder. To understand the question, you'd need to know that I do have a collection of over 400 movies (DVDs and videos) and close to that many CDs, some vinyl, video games, and a large library. I am also a serial crafter - knitting and crocheting are my two main outlets, but I also bead and weave, and have done others in the past. Most of the crafts that I no longer pursue I have trimmed out of my stash - giving away materials to friends who would use them or throwing away materials that cannot be re-used. However, the amount of STUFF in my domicile has reached (to me) critical mass. No, I am not in danger of being engulfed by pile of stuff in my sleep - and there is in fact more floor space visible than just small walkways (all reports to the contrary are exaggerations, however well-deserved).
After the time I've spent cleaning today, I think I can define my problem in a wa. I've never considered myself a hoarder, and I still don't -- although I will admit to some pack rat tendencies, simply because some things really do seem like they'd be useful at some nebulous future time. Eh, those things just don't make up a large part of my STUFF. As a matter of fact, the things that take up the most space around here don't even seem to be STUFF at all -- rather, it is the packaging for the STUFF that I need to toss but haven't or those stacks of mail and receipts I need to shred but haven't yet... In other words, my careless procrastination. Add to that the fact that I just don't spend that much time at home (always rushing to rehearsal, heading off to work, teaching a class, going to this interest or that) to actually clean up after myself and little bits build up rather quickly.
Somehow I doubt that I'll ever turn into a complete neat freak, but if I can apply the same theory to this that I am to my weight loss perhaps I can at least turn some of my habits around. It's the little things - like not setting bags down in the entry way when I get home, and not just kicking my shoes off and leaving them there. I'm purging the parts of my collections that I am not using -- the movies that I no longer watch, the clothes that no longer fit, the shoes I don't wear -- to regain control of my space. I've been in the process of the purge for a while, but I think I need to get the whole thing down to a system.
I'm also adding to my daily log the amount of time I spend cleaning - or at the very least what I've managed to accomplish around the house. Since keeping track of what I've been eating and when has helped me a great deal to change my patterns in a more healthy fashion, it stands to reason that I should be able to effect a similar outcome in my housecleaning habits. We shall see...
A friend recently asked me if I was a hoarder. To understand the question, you'd need to know that I do have a collection of over 400 movies (DVDs and videos) and close to that many CDs, some vinyl, video games, and a large library. I am also a serial crafter - knitting and crocheting are my two main outlets, but I also bead and weave, and have done others in the past. Most of the crafts that I no longer pursue I have trimmed out of my stash - giving away materials to friends who would use them or throwing away materials that cannot be re-used. However, the amount of STUFF in my domicile has reached (to me) critical mass. No, I am not in danger of being engulfed by pile of stuff in my sleep - and there is in fact more floor space visible than just small walkways (all reports to the contrary are exaggerations, however well-deserved).
After the time I've spent cleaning today, I think I can define my problem in a wa. I've never considered myself a hoarder, and I still don't -- although I will admit to some pack rat tendencies, simply because some things really do seem like they'd be useful at some nebulous future time. Eh, those things just don't make up a large part of my STUFF. As a matter of fact, the things that take up the most space around here don't even seem to be STUFF at all -- rather, it is the packaging for the STUFF that I need to toss but haven't or those stacks of mail and receipts I need to shred but haven't yet... In other words, my careless procrastination. Add to that the fact that I just don't spend that much time at home (always rushing to rehearsal, heading off to work, teaching a class, going to this interest or that) to actually clean up after myself and little bits build up rather quickly.
Somehow I doubt that I'll ever turn into a complete neat freak, but if I can apply the same theory to this that I am to my weight loss perhaps I can at least turn some of my habits around. It's the little things - like not setting bags down in the entry way when I get home, and not just kicking my shoes off and leaving them there. I'm purging the parts of my collections that I am not using -- the movies that I no longer watch, the clothes that no longer fit, the shoes I don't wear -- to regain control of my space. I've been in the process of the purge for a while, but I think I need to get the whole thing down to a system.
I'm also adding to my daily log the amount of time I spend cleaning - or at the very least what I've managed to accomplish around the house. Since keeping track of what I've been eating and when has helped me a great deal to change my patterns in a more healthy fashion, it stands to reason that I should be able to effect a similar outcome in my housecleaning habits. We shall see...
posted by Cyndilou :) | 5:58 PM
4 Comments:
I don't know who asked you about being a hoarder, but they're right. YOU ARE A HOARDER!!! Add to that, as you'd say, you're a procrastinator at your convenience. Tough love I know but thanks for the chuckle.
Uh, you're the one who asked if I was a hoarder. :P So I did some research on it, and while I may come close in some definitions, clinically I am not there. Thank goodness. I just really need to (a) not procrastinate about putting stuff away when I get home and (b) stop ignoring things that get out of hand.
and (c) destash every once in a while. In that vein... I have a Hello Kitty twin bedsheet set that has your name on it if you want it - new in package (I bought the wrong size and lost the receipt) --- been meaning to ask you if you wanted it for ages now. :D
Well I thought the comment came from someone intelligent... nice to know that someone was me. ;) I guess I can stop calling you a hoarder long enough to get the Hello Kitty stuff from ya... um to encourage you not to be a hoarder. LOL I love ya just the way you are!
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