What I’ve Done this Summer Part II: RL Stuff
The Decluttering Project
Even before I got spooked into a massive clutter purge by A & E’s new TV show, Hoarders, I was starting to feel antsy about having and buying too much stuff recently. It was making me an unhappy person, so I decided to do something about it. The first thing I did was start making myself actually follow my grocery list. It was a bit shocking to me how much money this saved me. Since I have a really strong need to stray outside of rules, I allow myself to buy one Thing That is not on the List every week. I seem to be doing okay with this and it’s been about 6 weeks.
Then I watched the first episode of that TV show and BOOM - the compulsion to throw away everything hit me. It’s a good thing:
I have around 30 big (4-inch) notebooks, mostly filled with fanfic, that desperately need to be weeded out, especially since most of it is readily available on archives or in some cases on my computer. Then there are 4 -5 huge piles of paper (on shelving - not the floor, thank goodness!) That never got in notebooks because I was out of notebooks. Next step is weeding those out and putting away what little bit is left at the end. I’ve made some fairly good progress on these items. There is also a giant pile of articles/papers my dad has sent me that I’ve got to sort through, toss some of, and put away. I’m having some emotional issues with this part of the decluttering because in all honesty I don’t even want to read most of it [it’s articles about the Barnett Shale, mostly, not Important Family Documents] and Dad wants me to want to read it and I feel like a bad girl for wanting to just toss it all. But I feel better for at least typing that and admitting it to someone, so ...
My clothes closets (all 4! of them) were scary, scary places. Now all the clothes that were huge on me are gone, as are all the shoes that didn’t fit, were worn out or that I hated. I can see my closet floor again! And find what I want to wear in the morning! I still have a few T-shirts on shelves to go through and the dressers to clean out, but mostly I am finished with this part of the Project.
Last night I mentally went through all of the ridiculous amount of storage I have in my condo.
- 4 closets (one of them is a coat closet in the front entry - the other 3 are big and all have shelves in addition to hanging space)
- 1 linen closet in the hall
- 1 small half linen closet in the guest bath
- 2 large dressers
- 1 large utility closet
- 3 small tables with drawers
- 10 (approximately) large bookcases
- 2 large sets of shelves in my office
- 1 small set of shelves in my office
- 1 large coffee table with drawers
- 1 bookcase with a lower cabinet with doors
- 4 media storage units with DVDs
- 2 media storage units with CDs
- 1 secretary with 3 large drawers and about 10 small drawers
- 1 desk in my office with 1 large drawer and a few small shelves
- 1 rolling cart and 2 plastic sets of drawers/storage units in my office
- 2 shelf areas under my built-in vanity
- 5 cabinets and 2 drawers in my master bath
- 4 cabinets and 1 drawer in my guest bath
- 1 small children’s desk in the entry
- 3 built in cabinets in the entry way
- 3 sets of glass display shelving in the entry way
- Some miscellaneous small storage/organization items like toolboxes and bead organizers and such
Plus my kitchen storage, which consists of fairly standard condo cabinets and a small pantry.
That is a ridiculous amount of storage for one person. All of these various storage items have stuff in them. Some of them are full, some of them are not, but every one of them has something in it. Now, I don’t have stuff lying around on the floor or doors that can’t be opened because of all the junk. There’s no trash lying around. I can almost always find whatever I’m looking for. So I don’t think I’d hit the really disturbing level of hoarding. But still, I have way too much stuff. And way too many places to put stuff. I am having a hard time even imagining getting rid of any of my books, but a lot of the other stuff (and places to put stuff) has just got to go.
I’ve spent the last 3 weekends and most of the evenings of this week getting rid of stuff and boy does it feel good! I just have to keep reminding myself that it took many years to acquire all this stuff and will take a good bit of time to pare it down to something manageable.
I have also done some fun things!
Friday night crafting & mocking [of bad reality TV shows], Six Flags, the Dallas Arboretum, a few movies (most notably Half Blood Prince which will get its own entry) ... And one really fun thing - I spent a lovely day at Scarborough Faire with pepperjackcandy. We hadn’t seen each other in ages, so it was wonderful to have a chance to catch up with her and eat ren fair food and shop for silly stuff. :)
I got out to dinner with friends sometimes (and to lunch with my dad and his wife fairly often) but it’s so darned difficult with both my weight loss and lactose intolerance issues that I’ve cut back on it considerably.
Workout/Diet Stuff
Just plugging along here. I did take a couple of weeks off, and I’m glad I did. Oh, also - I can run now! I can maybe even outrun the Zombies if I have to!
What I haven’t Done:
1. Gone anywhere. I was kinda sorta thinking about taking a train trip from Dallas to Alpine or maybe a bit further, but I didn’t get around to it and I need to allocate both my vacation day and money resources elsewhere right now, so that’s going to have to wait at least one year.
2. Watch TV (with the exception of the Friday night mocking), but I think I said that in my previous post.
3. I also quite giving myself manicures on Saturday. There doesn't seem to be much point now with the decluttering. I've promised myself a really nice manicure when I'm done, though.