I’m running into a problem. The more I clean up/shine areas of this place, the more cluttered the untouched areas become. I’m working pretty hard at maintaining what I’ve done and expanding it too. Every week I cull some things, sometimes quite a few.
But that means that three areas at least keep degrading: the living room, because things going away tend to be put there. The storage area in the kitchen, obviously. And our bedroom, which absolutely doesn’t need more stuff stuffed into it!
And I don’t really have an answer. I’m willing and able to cull things, but I’ve been doing this literally for more than a decade now and it’s getting down to things I wanted to keep. I keep letting those go, more and more, but there’s a limit to what I’m comfortable with at one given time.
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m looking at signed artwork and heirlooms and who should get what. Rather than storing the items until my death, I’m considering just mailing them off to whoever, so I don’t have to store them anymore. Part of that is that I’m revising my will at the moment. But again, it’s part and parcel of the same process, and I’ve gotten to the point where I’m really looking at almost everything I own: is it worth keeping? Selling? Should I give it to X now? Etc.
And that stuff really isn’t the problem. The problem is the midrange stuff. The low-end is going away, in bulk quantity. The mid-range is sort of valuable, might sell (or might not) and maybe I should research/sell it?
For example, on my desk right now are the following: 3 reference books, which were researched and quoted out. Two are sold, just need to be mailed. [Gone]The other is waiting on the customer’s response. Three books about housewifery and frugality I intend to keep. A first edition, hardcover book which should be worth at least $20 and a paperback at one point I’d priced at $10, high for what it should be, to research. [Gone]
For my desk? This is pretty emptty.
The two sold books will go into a mailer and hopefully get mailed this week. [Done.] The paperback and hardcover first edition will be researched and either get priced and put aside for the booth, or go into a box of bulk sales books going to storage (there are 3 such boxes in my car).
I have two other things to mail with incomplete addresses downstairs. They need the addressing completed, to get sealed and mailed as well. [Gone]
But there’s also piles of boxes of stuff in the living room, our bedroom, the kitchen storage, and the storage unit to go through, again, still.
I’m tired of this! Oh well, the only way to done is through start, right? And I haven’t started dealing with the stuff today.
I wonder if I set a timer for say an hour I could get it to not be quite so overwhelming? I’ll try that, anything at this point is worth a shot!
7 Levels 