We are overwhelmed with STUFF. And although we've managed to give away so much of it (9 bags of girls clothes just yesterday! And several bags of stuff to the Salvation Army!) there still is always more.
I've been pretty good at being ruthless with clothes and toys, but there are certain things that are like cement walls for me:
- photos
- old letters
- CDs
- art projects. So many cute little art projects.
We do have the option to just put anything in storage (since our assessment of weight limits came in under), but when I have something in my hand and it's heading toward the storage pile, I stop and think "Am I really going to want to see this in 15 years?" and realize I should just throw/give it away.
I've been reading other FS blogs the last few nights and am overwhelmed at how organized some people are. At the same time that it instills a fire in me to be better, it also has the effect of making me feel USELESS and really dumb for not jumping on the bandwagon earlier. So far I have not been a very good FS housewife, and I am so sorry about that.
And now I must get some sleep so I can (try to) be (more) useful tomorrow.
It is so hard! Especially those momento type things. I finally decided just to keep most of them in storage. I scanned all the photos and letters I really cared about and chucked it all in storage. I keep a lot of the art projects too. Too many probably but as long as there is room, I decided it was okay with me. Best of luck with it. You are right, it is not easy! And no solution works for every family. I think it does get easier every move though. After you haul it around for 4 moves, you really start thinking about if you really care about it. (I like your "will I want to see this in 15 years" question. Another great way to decide.) Hang in there and good luck! The nice thing about Mexico is that even if you purge something you end up needing later, you can probably get another one easily and relatively cheaply.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely in the "I'm disorganized and can't throw crap away" club. So it all came. And now that is all unpacked, I'm glad I brought everything, but the unpacking process was PAINFUL.
ReplyDeleteToo much stuff? Amen to that!!!! I can't even imagine having three more people's stuff to sort through! I can't wait for our movers to come tomorrow to take it all away!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteOur bid list just came out. Guadalajara is on there....and on our yes list. How weird would that be?
That would be awesome, is what that would be.
ReplyDelete