Too much stuff!!!

[hidden_kitten]

I have moved back in with parents after a crappy break up. I moved away less than a year ago so there's a lot of stuff I hadn't got round to chucking/donating so have had to haul it back here. When I moved away with my ex, I got rid of old furniture in my old room so now it's all stacks of boxes and nowhere to put the contents.

 

I'm quite overwhelmed with having to unpack and set up shop again. I was an art student so have a lot of materials/folios I feel I can't part with (for a start they were quite expensive!) Also a keen reader and music fan so a lot of boxes were filled to the brim with books and CDs. My ex's flat is BARE except for his tiny shelf of DVDs. I envy him!

 

One worry is that I'm looking for a new job, probably far away and possibly in a different country, and I feel really disheartened having to take everything with me again, but at the same time hate the thought of leaving it here.

 

Not sure what kind of advice I'm looking for here. Is anyone else a ridiculous hoarder like me? Has anyone ever done an extreme declutter/overhaul?

[and so it goes]

Here's some thoughts (and this is from experience)

 

Books: if you are not emotionally attached to such a such a title, and it can be borrowed from the public library, then give it away (write down the title)

Movies/DVDs: same thing - you can get that stuff on line anyway

Clothes: if they don't fit, never will or they look out of fashion (whatever that might be) then toss/give away to charity

Art stuff: Some works you can't ever give away, some you can - take a photo, post it on facebook whatever, and toss. Keep the good stuff though

Art supplies: make sure they are still good - paint dries out, paper yellows etc etc

 

 

You get the idea.

 

Get some nice new boxes - all identical. Pack them well, label them, date them and stack them

 

Start with three piles: keep, throw away, give away and just keep working away at it.

 

Q: How do you eat an elephant?

A: One bite at a time.

 

“The things you used to own, now they own you.” Chuck Palahniuk

 

Good luck -

[Batya33]

I have a clutter problem too and I find that if you are determined it takes far less time than you think. Today in one hour I went through a 4-shelf bookcase brimming with books/papers/DVDs - ended up with one large garbage bag to toss, one storage box of stuff now labeled and in the closet and a bookshelf that now is neat where you can see all the books/book titles.

[relevart]

With your art stuff, be very careful in either giving stuff away or chucking it because that's stuff you can never get back. If you photograph it, don't just snap a cell phone pic of it. Have someone with some serious gear who knows what they are doing come in, set it up right in just the right light and take multiple photographs of it which you then keep in their highest resolution on a hard drive somewhere. That way, you'll always have the prints and later down the line can possibly sell them as prints on line.

[mhowe]

Do not move crap a third time. Cull now and make room for the future. You can't move forward if you are anchored to the past.

[hidden_kitten]

Yeah think I just need to attack it one box at a time. I'm still in denial that all this has actually happened, aarggh! Things that I don't want to take on the next move will be organised and put in the loft, so that will make things hella easier!

[itsallgrand]

How's it going, kitten?

 

I'm in the process myself of going through everything and boxing things up. What to give away, throw away, take?

 

I am tackling the 'easier' things first, and leaving the one that are most difficult for me to decide for last. Clears up a lot of space right there.

 

I'm finding it hard to decide what to do with my books. I love them...but...do I need all of you?!

 

It's funny what you find too going through everything. For example, it seems I have some sort of honey fetish by the looks of it - I have found 6 containers of honey! What the heck...are you noticing those things that you tend to buy/keep in excess too??

[hidden_kitten]

Hey itsallgrand, it's going ok. Like you said, I'm doing "easy" stuff first like my clothing/bed linen. That can all get folded and chucked in the cupboard and at the same time cull things I never wear.

 

Books are difficult too. I guess be really strict with what you are unlikely to reread or need reference too. Difficult for me cos i have a few non fiction art manuals that I like to have on hand. Stupidly heavy and cumbersome too haha!

 

Got a text from ex today that he's sad that I left behind gifts that he got me. Nothing fancy, one item was a wooden trinket box that held pens and odds and sods. Like i need more clutter that reminds me of him. What planet is he on??

 

Good luck with the rest of your packing and sorting also!