stuff I like

I've just finished this book called STUFF: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things. It's fascinating, absolutely fascinating. I've always been intrigued by people who hoard stuff (or animals or whatever) and this book really illuminates their struggles to deal with their problems. Wow. It also made me realize how easy it could be to fall into that trap. I've got so much JUNK that I save because it might be useful someday or I mean to repair it or someone gave it to me or ... the list goes on and ON.

I think I've got a problem with books. I just like books. I like having them all around me. I like having my STUFF all around me. I posted a picture of my really, really messy and cluttered dressing room recently. That picture was taken last Spring, but there's been no improvement. The piles wax and wane but never go away. I've been like that since I first got my own room (as opposed to sharing with a sister) as a teen. It was kind of a family joke that I'd switch rooms once my own room became unliveable. Truly unliveable; you couldn't walk through the room, you had to walk OVER stuff.

The problem extended into my adult years. I used to ask my friend, Furniture Girl(whom I've known for 23 years! WOW!!!), to come over and keep me company while I cleaned my room. She'd have to climb over stuff to perch on my bed while I dug through and organized all my stuff. geez-o-peets. I've always kind of left the mess in my bedroom and kept the rest of my living space clear, but lately, my mess has been expanded to the TV room, our "nest." This is where I like to make my crafty stuff and knit and crochet while Mr Handsome and I watch TV and videos. It's getting out of control. This is just the sidetable top:

Actually, this pic doesn't look too bad. To me, anyway (note the delicious hop-brew). But it's a real problem, the organization of all my crafty stuff. I think I'll have to take over a bookcase to get it all organized. But then, where will all the books go???

This book has shamed and inspired me to get rid of the stuff that's been sitting around for YEARS, literally gathering dust. This afternoon, I spent about an hour clearing crap out of the "office," which used to be where I'd do my college homework but now is just used as a catchall and as where we put the kitty litter. So, I'm in there at least twice a day. Also, it's where the door to the upper deck is, so we go through there often in nice weather. I'd like that room to be useable instead of embarrassing! I packed up over a dozen old textbooks (I am NEVER going to look up information in them again! I mean, c'mon! That's what the internet is for!), two paper grocery bags crammed full of recycleables, a bag of pure trash, and a big box of office supplies that I embezzled from my old secretary-type jobs (a few pens here, a few stickynote pads there, a bunch of old binders... they weren't using them and I could find a use for them, riiiiight???). I still feel like "oh, we might need those some day!" But we WON'T We won't EVER need six binders! Or 24 pencils! Or a sh!tload of cardstock! Oh, it's gonna feel good to take all that stuff to Goodwill. It's an office-in-a-box and I hope someone will be super happy to find it!

Next, I'll tackle the dressing room. But I have to admit, it really IS hard to get rid of all this stuff that I've purposefully collected and saved, saved for godonlyknows WHAT reason.