Originally Posted by
mac
I want to down-size, but the minute I get started I get so overwhelmed. I make a mess and then that mess never quite gets finished and I end up with another mess. I am very easily distracted. On the other hand, I tend to keep things longer than I should because I have experienced too many times getting rid of something only to find out I needed it a month or two later. I get very frustrated with myself and then I drag my feet...
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mac --- I can understand the feeling of being overwhelmed as I inherited a home with basement, large garage, etc. The contents represented decades of saving. Each area was more than Full of Things.....
So --- this is what I do now. I take out only those things I can go through in x amount of time. If my time is almost up I hurry and put items away as best I can and discard the trash bag, donation bag, etc. Over the weekend, I filled up a total of six large brown grocery bags with paper to be recycled. Those bags are in the garage to be recycled with some plastic items. The two large brown grocery bags with donations for St. Vincent de Paul are in my car trunk. Another donation bag is ready for anything at anytime. If I have something in my hand that I want to discard, I can walk to the appropriate area and take care of it right away. That, to me, is freedom.
The other thing I think of is how much I am paying to "house" all these things I've accumulated. Have I gotten the best use of the space? Will I ever use ---- whatever. How big of a financial loss would incur if I gave something away and found out weeks or months later that I could have used --- whatever????
We all try to find a system which will meet our personal needs. I've been using this system for about 2.5 years. It started with a challenge by a friend for us to each discard, pass on, or donate a minimum of one large brown grocery bag weekly. Ann and I found it was really easy to fill a donation bag weekly plus another bag for trash. Little by little, we created a habit which works for us. Good Luck!