We have lived in our little house since 1974 and have accumulated far too much of this and that over the years. For some time now I've been sending loads to various op shops where they've been gratefully accepted. I even sold a lot of items on eBay which netted me quite a good return. I have made a point of not bringing much new into the house except essentials such as food and perhaps new sheets etc., when needed. Our linen cupboard is stocked well and we have far too many clothes and are busy going through them; they never seem to wear out but just get older.
No matter how hard I try we still seem to be surrounded by too much clutter. I was sitting (should have been sorting of course) thinking about this and my mind wandered back to when I lived with my folks.
There never seemed to be anything of excess in our/their home. Both my parents (and me too) read books regularly but we did not have a bookcase or more than perhaps a dozen books in the house. The library supplied all our reading matter so no need to store them at home. We had a gramophone but not a large number of records (I still have that gramophone and need to find a home for it). The home on their farm was destroyed by fire before I was born so no family heirlooms to worry about. They just didn't accumulate unnecessary 'stuff'.
I don't remember them having much paperwork at all so what did they do with their household receipts etc? I have always kept receipts and relevant documents but am now beginning to shred them and am only keeping the last receipt of anything as there is proof of payment in our bank statements. Yesterday I shredded taxation returns from the 1970s and 1980s. Why had we kept them for so long I wonder? I had documents relating to an accident I was involved on the way to work back in 1986. The claim was settled. Why did I still have all the paperwork? It too has now been shredded. Lots more to go through though.
Have cut collection of books down to a minimum but MOH loves to keep books for reference and will sometimes re-read non-fiction books twice or even three times. He refuses to let them go and they are important to him. We have dozens of LPs which we still play on our turntable (they do sound so much better than CDs don't they) but there are also dozens of CDs as well. Oh dear!!!
It is now time I went through my kitchen. I don't cook anything very complicated these days so do I really need to get rid of those things that are never used.
My main reason for trying to de-clutter is the thought of our perhaps having to move one day if we both get too feeble to stay here or if we should drop off the perch suddenly my poor daughter having to deal with all this. It is not something I would wish on my best friend let alone my family.
Do you also have problems with an over-abundance of things or are you one of those people that only has what you need and are always neat and tidy with everything in its place and a place for everything?
