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A Little Overwhelmed

July 26th, 2012 at 02:50 pm

In my quest to de-junk and make some garage sale cash, I'm getting a little overwhelmed. Partly it's the realization of all the junk we have. And much of it is tangled up with memories. I'm finding things from my mom, things from my ex-husband, things from old friends--and just plain too many things.

I'm going to try a couple strategies to stop the frustration--perhaps one room at a time. Or maybe even one corner of the dread office at a time.

On a positive note--the RR magazine the Brits left her in June sold for $3 on ebay.

Posted in Castles and Hovels, Junk and more junk | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “A Little Overwhelmed”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 02:52 pm 1343314349
    1343314349

    Perhaps getting rid of these things will not only give you more room in your home, but free your heart and head as well. Sorry about the feeling of being overwhelmed. Try to step back and take a deep breath so you don't get too frustrated.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 02:57 pm 1343314663
    1343314663

    I completely understand. I get freaked out by stuff sometimes. Way to go trying different strategies until you push past that feeling!

    One more piece of advice for your garage sale: Schedule a Goodwill truck pickup for that evening or as soon as possible. Don't bring one single thing that you were willing to part with back into your house. We do this every time and it's very cleansing.

  3. laura Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 02:59 pm 1343314755
    1343314755


    You, my friend, are singing to the choir! Smile I've got tons and tons and tons of stuff, from my grandparents, my husband's grandparents, etc. The worst feeling that plundered my heart was when my boys decided it is time to re-do their room. The John Deere room with the farm mural we painted five years ago ... I can't trap them in childhood forever and I've decided to take some more pictures and move on. How I handle this situation (and the emotional aspect of "things") will impact how they view things. I'm sentimental, and honestly, parting with things isn't really like parting again with the person, right? Need to remind myself of that.

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 03:06 pm 1343315186
    1343315186

    My advice, for what it's worth, is to spend small amounts of time on decluttering and organizing. Set a timer, once it goes off after 15-20 minutes go relax and do something else. If you are motivated, just keep going.

    Also, it's okay to set the sentimental items aside for now. It's also okay not to find EVERYTHING for this sale. It just may not be possible. Just pull the obvious first and know there may need to be other sales at other times.

    I second the plan to donate the excess to Goodwill right after the sale. No later than the day after. Or have a charity pickup scheduled.

  5. snafu Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 04:56 pm 1343321762
    1343321762

    If items have negative thoughts or memories [EX] get them O-U-T! Laura had an excellent suggestion to take pictures of items that evoke wonderful memories. They stay in your heart, not on the item itself. You needn't do it all in one sale. You can target sales for 'back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas' appropriate. Put photo ads in Craig'sList & Kijjiji furniture/big/highest priced items selling separately from Garage sale.

    Remember you are not being disloyal or rejecting memories, your goal is to make space for the items you need and use. It's too stressful and overwhelming to have to look after stuff that has morphed to 'jumble.' Keep de-cluttering even if it's done in baby steps, perhaps 30 minutes each day.

  6. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    July 26th, 2012 at 11:41 pm 1343346111
    1343346111

    I will third (4th?) the suggestion to break it up into manageable chunks of time. Spend 15-20 minutes working in one room - maybe start with one drawer. When that drawer is finished, take a break. Do another drawer later.

    In going through my dad's things this summer there were many things that had a lot of sentimental value, but were essentially junk. My brother and I both don't want clutter, so we were pretty ruthless about what we threw out and gave away. We still have kept a lot (!!!!) but for me at least I already have what I need from my dad - and it isn't a material item.

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