Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Declutter: Throwing Away Your Past

So, as part of Domestic Goddess week, I'm wading through shiteloads of accumulation.

I had no idea how hard it would be to part with the material manifestations of my past. For me I think sentimentality is much more present in those objects than in my mind...

I think, when you grow up as a poor migrant, your parents drum into your head how "money isn't easy to earn" and "not to be wasteful" and so you are conditioned to distinctly overvalue material objects and thus you end up being a hoarder of EVERYTHING by default...just in case that scrap of paper or scrap of string might come in handy later. It is a terrible affliction but I'm sure anyone who didn't grow up with a silver platter has exactly the same mentality which is incredibly hard to shake.

So anyway as I am faced with the ghosts of my past in their material presence in varying degrees...I'm finding it very confronting to try and dispose of things. *Sigh*...Life.

5 comments:

koala brains said...

Yeah, it's tough when you associate so much meaning to stuff or if you are brought up to save them but think about how cleansing it is to rid of clutter. It clears the mind and makes you feel lighter.

Dina Roberts said...

I've gotten better at getting rid of stuff. I read these spirituality books that talked about how you can't take it with you when you're dead. That changed me a lot.

But still....I sometimes do have a hard time. To me, now it's less about being sentimental. And more about regret when we realize we could have actually used that!

The hard thing is getting rid of Jack's toys. He has SO many. Way too many. First of all, he is very possessive of stuff. It's quite a struggle to get him to give stuff away. But second, he's kind of at this age, where he still might play with the stuff. I think to myself that we should just wait until he's ten or so and he's totally outgrown the stuff. But then I worry by that time, there will be a sentimental attachment to everything.

And I HATE clutter!!!! I got rid of a lot of my stuff--but the house is still full because I have a husband and child who are total pack-racks.

Unknown said...

Anybody who has The Church, The Necks, My Bloody Valentine and Miles Davis collected together on their fav music list is a friend of mine. And a Scorpio to boot. Looking forward to exploring your blog.

Cheers!
- Son

Unknown said...

I'm totally into getting rid of stuff! Its so much better for your life. Not all stuff, just stuff stuff.

Unknown said...

To add to my previous comment - yes it can be hard getting rid of things from your past, because what does it mean for you to throw it away?

Some things have taken years for me to throw out/give away. I could talk for ages on this topic...