It really is All Too Much

Thanks to Molly Ellen for the book suggestion It's All Too Much as a helpful guide to paring down one's belongings. It's written by the Peter Walsh, the Clean Sweep guy from whatever cool cable channel - I must admit I've never seen the show, and anytime I'm around cable TV I'm outvoted when I want to bounce between HGTV and Discovery.

It's inspiring, in that it makes me want to write a book, because it apparently doesn't take much talent and writing well is merely an added bonus not an essential feature... Actually, I liked how the arguments pro/con stuff got me thinking.

The essential point is this: do not have anything in your living space unless it is beautiful or useful. Eventually, possessions own you. Organization is nice, but really - there's only so much space and it doesn't matter if it's in color-coded Tupperware. By carefully culling down your possessions, you can fit your stuff to your space available, rather than trying to cram more in. He harshes on self-storage as a huge waste of money and a symptom of an underlying pathology. "Collectors" are villified. Those ever-encroaching piles of paper on every available flat surface are strongly cautioned against. The hopeful half of the closet - items awaiting your eventual sewing attention or massive weight loss - is banished.

Full disclosure: for years when asked what I wanted for Christmas, etc. my reply is always "Nothing I have to dust." I wish my house reflected that, but I have accumulated many curios/tchotchkes/souvenirs and whatnot. Most of it was given as gifts, and I always feel badly about not having whatever on display when whomever comes to visit whenever. I outwardly proclaim the "once it's yours it's your decision" but balk when it comes time to actually let it go. Admiting it is the first step, right? Back to the book...

The take-home message encourages an honest appraisal of what you keep, and why. If an item has sentimental value, is it displayed and honored - or stuffed into a dusty box in the recesses of the basement? If it matters to you, find a way to display it. If it doesn't have sentimental value and isn't useful - or hastn't been useful for quite some time - out it goes. Let the culling begin...

The rule about clothes is that if you don't love it, wear it and look great in it - out it goes. Half of my closet is now gone. I can't say that I love all that remains, and I probably should do another round.

I went through all the kids' clothes - brutal! My daughter had 34 pairs of underwear, in 3 different sizes... And some socks from toddler days! I actually went through the bag of Hosiery without Partners, paired up what I could, and put the rest in for ragstock at Goodwill. And the pile of sewing projects is down by half - some I fixed, some I pitched.

Ah, the bookshelf; the display for all my intellectual pretensions... If I haven't read it yet, I probably won't. If it was so good I need to read it again, I have 6 months. If I really need a certain book eventually, I can always get it from the library. And at some point I must admit I will never 'get' Neruda or Borges, and that's okay... Bob's band was over, and I foisted off many books on them. The rest will be going to our local coffeeshop which is a drop-off for a lending library. Unless, of course, I get impatient with tripping over the multiple boxes and just take them to Goodwill too. Even after all that, we still have a pretty full bookshelf.

This is intended to be an ongoing project, continually going through closets and drawers and cupboards (oh my! ) and some days I am in the mood to be merciless and other days I'm too darned sentimental to give up anything. Two major problem areas remain: kids artwork, and my zillion craft supplies. That's going to hurt.

What has been most disturbing about this whole process is you feel so darned accomplished, trunkloads to Goodwill, etc. - but it's almost impossible to discern what's gone. My house is still over-stuffed. But at least it's a work in progress.