Just a post about "Stuff".
Dec. 11th, 2023 03:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderI don't know that I am ever free of thoughts about my stuff.
I love a lot of what I have, I have plans for it. I will one day read all those books, I will wear all those clothes, I will use all of that craft stuff.
To be fair, I craft a lot, wear a variety of clothes, and read.
I have a sizable DVD collection, but we really do watch a lot of movies. We go back to those storage bins all the time to pull out something to watch.
I just have too many things.
I used to have a goal on 43 Things about decluttering, and it was always a work in progress. I never totally give up on going through my things and getting rid of stuff. I often make good progress.
I just buy more stuff, eventually.
I sell things on Marketplace, I take things to the thrift store, I give them away. I am often a bit reluctant, but I CAN recognize when I have passed a point where I am going to use something again.
Sometimes it pulls at me a bit that I spent money on something and never did anything with it, or let's say I have a set of curtains that used to be in the other house, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do (if anything) about curtains in this house. I haven't had curtains in this house, and I might not even bother. Should I get rid of the old curtains?
How about the pretty bed set that frankly won't go with the new guest bedroom in the least?
How about my CD collection? I have gradually pared it down so that it at least all fits into the one neat CD cabinet.
I do continue to buy things. Sometimes they are very useful and/or beautiful. Sometimes they are obvious "fantasy" objects that I know are about ideas more than something actionable.
I carry on. Tonight I was looking through some bins in the basement, looking for fabric I could give to a young person I know who sews. I found quite a bit right away that would work for the costumes she likes to sew, and some other fabric that I likely will not use, and some crap.
I found a bin of beautiful but very out of date wool men's coats and women's clothes that I bought at a thrift store on the one dollar rack, because I thought I might make a wool fabric quilt. I should probably just move that along too.
I have pretty much an entire storage tub of beautiful old vintage embroidery. Those lovely things they would put on dressers and side tables. I will never use them, but I love the feeling of connection with the women who hand embroidered them. They're like folk art.
None of it is garbage, but I have to let some of it go. Maybe most of it.
I feel like this process of going through my things and getting rid of stuff just never ends.
I love a lot of what I have, I have plans for it. I will one day read all those books, I will wear all those clothes, I will use all of that craft stuff.
To be fair, I craft a lot, wear a variety of clothes, and read.
I have a sizable DVD collection, but we really do watch a lot of movies. We go back to those storage bins all the time to pull out something to watch.
I just have too many things.
I used to have a goal on 43 Things about decluttering, and it was always a work in progress. I never totally give up on going through my things and getting rid of stuff. I often make good progress.
I just buy more stuff, eventually.
I sell things on Marketplace, I take things to the thrift store, I give them away. I am often a bit reluctant, but I CAN recognize when I have passed a point where I am going to use something again.
Sometimes it pulls at me a bit that I spent money on something and never did anything with it, or let's say I have a set of curtains that used to be in the other house, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do (if anything) about curtains in this house. I haven't had curtains in this house, and I might not even bother. Should I get rid of the old curtains?
How about the pretty bed set that frankly won't go with the new guest bedroom in the least?
How about my CD collection? I have gradually pared it down so that it at least all fits into the one neat CD cabinet.
I do continue to buy things. Sometimes they are very useful and/or beautiful. Sometimes they are obvious "fantasy" objects that I know are about ideas more than something actionable.
I carry on. Tonight I was looking through some bins in the basement, looking for fabric I could give to a young person I know who sews. I found quite a bit right away that would work for the costumes she likes to sew, and some other fabric that I likely will not use, and some crap.
I found a bin of beautiful but very out of date wool men's coats and women's clothes that I bought at a thrift store on the one dollar rack, because I thought I might make a wool fabric quilt. I should probably just move that along too.
I have pretty much an entire storage tub of beautiful old vintage embroidery. Those lovely things they would put on dressers and side tables. I will never use them, but I love the feeling of connection with the women who hand embroidered them. They're like folk art.
None of it is garbage, but I have to let some of it go. Maybe most of it.
I feel like this process of going through my things and getting rid of stuff just never ends.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-11 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-12 07:20 am (UTC)I think most people have a few things that never quite fit, or never worked with their wardrobe or whatever, but they hate to just donate it when they paid money for it.
A lot of my clothes are at least from thrift stores, so it doesn't feel QUITE so bad to give it away or donate it again.
It was hard for me to let go of clothes that were too big after I lost weight, because I couldn't quite trust that I wouldn't gain it back, and before that I hated to give away clothes that were too small, if it was only by maybe one size, because I could maybe lose the weight.
I don't think we're alone in this keeping a wardrobe of a range of sizes.
I'm going to try to sell some things, I've had decent luck with Marketplace. At least some of the very nice things, if I really don't think I'm going to use them.