As a fun urm side effect of my ADHD, I have an awful lot of stuff, hundreds of half finished projects, ideas, trinkets etc.
Having rooms filled with this stuff is causing me endless anxiety, but the idea of throwing it all out causes me dread....
The anxiety created by the idea of sorting it so I could sell is worse than that of having it.
What the hell do I do?
Pick something. Then start.
@LnzyHou @CriticalCupcake Same. I am also a prolific list maker. I made a short list of what bugged me the worst, in a sharpie nonetheless, whether it was a shelf of stuff or an entire room. Then started knocking it out one at a time. I did the Konmari thing of do I love it? Keep it and make it beautiful. Donate the things I can't sell. Trash the crap. When one short list is tackled & marked off, make the next list. If it's worth it, sell one thing at a time on marketplace or have a garage sale.
Great planning/execution.
I’ve recently refined my plan:
Pictures or gifts from people I don’t love—gifted, donated or trashed.
Bad buying decisions gifted, donated (loss of $ notwithstanding)
Worn items kept for sentimental reasons—
donated/trashed
Things that once worked & no longer do-donated or trashed
The more I create empty space, the more peace I find.
@LnzyHou @CriticalCupcake and my oh my that first one is hard to do. I was raised with catholic guilt, but omg it feels so much better when you can get over it and stop keeping things because you're worried about what the giver will think!
Love your refining! *goals*
I struggle with each one. But the pay-off is seeing final vestiges of clutter disappearing.
@LnzyHou 👍
"The more I create empty space, the more peace I find."
💜
I surely can relate. When mum passed away, as I went through every item in her house my childhood home became open and freeing, while the house I lived in felt cluttered and heavy. It got to the point where I wanted to spend more time in the old, almost empty house. It was a good lesson to learn early on.
@Toni_Walker @Yarnchick @CriticalCupcake
Have asked myself why I am so comfortable/peaceful after just six weeks in NJ—a place I never dreamed I’d live.
This apartment is 50 sq ft smaller than my AVL apt. I’ve applied advanced decluttering tactics & the result is ease/comfort I’ve not had before.
The real challenge is NOT buying.
@LnzyHou
😌
That sounds like a weight lifted. I know I'm more choosy about purchases when I have less space to work with.
@Toni_Walker @Yarnchick @CriticalCupcake
When looking at a “must have”, my son has taught me to ask “where will it live?”
@CriticalCupcake Throw it out and start fresh. What will happen is that as you go to start throwing it out you will get distracted and not throw it out! I speak from AADD experience! If you are lucky you may get to throw out one or two items.
@CriticalCupcake You may have a low level of hoarding syndrome.
Start small. Pick an area 4 feet by 4 feet in one room and organize that. Then do the next section.
This guy is great. He also suffers from ADHD but he's cleans hoarder houses! Watch and listen. He will explain the psychology better than any professor. He will help you.
Find a friend who can sort it for you or, if there is no such person, look for someone who might do it for payment. Give them some general guidelines and then let them do their thing. You can always review their decisions afterwards.
I totally get it. Every year I go through my stuff and I give it away to people I know will use it. The "knowing they will use it" is the important part. This year it was yarn, because I decided, just because I have several blankets and scarves started, doesn't mean I know how to crochet.
That's my suggestion...start by giving things to people you know will use it.
I hope you find a way through that helps your anxiety. 💞
@CriticalCupcake
As someone who found themselves living in a museum of things I myself have collected for a lifetime, and also the things of people I loved and lost, I understand.
I read the book "Swedish Death Cleaning". @LnzyHou suggested it, and it really has helped me start the process of paring down.
@CinnamonGirlE @CriticalCupcake
I’m so proud of you. Decluttering is a very emotional process. Until it’s not.
It gets easier with practice.
@CinnamonGirlE Been wotking on it for years now. A lifetime of stuff. Started with DH stuff, when he passed @CriticalCupcake @LnzyHou
@CinnamonGirlE Its astounding how much one can collect @CriticalCupcake @LnzyHou
@gemswinc @CinnamonGirlE @CriticalCupcake
We have to STOP buying.
@LnzyHou I'm on it! Past lives! @CinnamonGirlE @CriticalCupcake
@CriticalCupcake on the days when I can, scheduling 15 min to chip @ an overwhelming task works for me. Sometimes so well I stay with it longer. & don't forget to celebrate your progress (there's a square of bare floor @ Mom's of which I am quite proud). Hang in there & good luck!
Depends on where the dread is coming from, really. For me, it was letting go of the possibilities of the me I had envisioned when I bought it or acquired it that made it so hard to let go. That I was throwing away an unrealized part of myself. I wrote down all the dreams I had for myself the stuff invoked, and asked which ones I felt were truly still worth pursuing as the me I am now. Anything that went with with dreams I was ready to discard suddenly became "just stuff."
@CriticalCupcake step 1: Know that you're not alone. Step 2: [😬 sry IDK but 💛]