Stuff, stuff and more stuff

I have a lot of stuff ....


More then any human has any right to have, I mean A LOT of stuff. Packing up a three bedroom house that I have lived in for eight years has been an eye opening experience for me and has lead me to a few conclusions.


1.  If you have stuff that you have neither touched nor thought about touching for a twelve month period, just write it off.  You likely never needed it to begin with and you certainly don't need it now.


2.  If you have stuff that you don't even know what it does but you have been holding onto it in case you find the original use for it, don't. Throw it out now or you will stumble on it again and again having the exact same internal dialougue with yourself as to whether you should keep it or not.


3.  If you have stuff that you have had since you're first apartment and you are 33 years old, I can almost gauruntee that it is either out of date, out of fashion, out of purpose or out of need.  Toss it now so it doesn't plague you later.


4.  If you have stuff that you have tucked, hidden or otherwise pushed out of site and out of mind, I am here to tell you it hasn't gone anywhere.  It is still lurking in the darkest corners of your closets, dresser drawers, cabinets just waiting to make its glorious return to the daylight where you will once again think, why did I keep this crap?


5.  If you have stuff that you keep for "sentimental" reasons, assess the true value of it to determine if the memory is enough to keep you going or you really need to have the stuff in order to mark the occasion, event or person.  Unless the artifact has real monetary value or can be handed down through the generations my advice is to take a picture, toss the object and call it a day.


6.  If you hold on to stuff thinking that you're going to make a fortune when you sell it but then never actually get around to selling any of it, save yourself the trouble and call your favorite charity today to make a donation.  You'll feel better about yourself and maybe someone will actually start using the stuff that is just sitting in a box at your house.


7.  If you have ever lived with someone and they left but you stayed - make them come over and help you move because half the stuff you come across is going to be theirs anyway.  They know they got out easy and you know who you are ...


Packing has turned out to be a very cathartic undertaking.  I feel cleansed and ready to start anew and I make this promise to myself and to the world of blog readers here and now - I will work to get my shopping addiction under control.