Anonymous wrote:Well, at least you have stable home where the stuff can sit. I have had to move many times for different reasons and I recognized that stuff is not helping at all. Clutter was a drag and burden.

A lot of military brats tend to hoard things

It is a reaction being forced by their parents to have to purge things every time they moved (and likely the stuff representing lost friends and disrupted relationships.)

You are paying mortgage, heating and cooling cost for trash you don't need. Throw away the hoard and your savings are immediate. You will have more space for the mortgage and utilities.

the rule of thumb that I follow is that if in doubt, and it costs less than $20 OR can be acquired in less than 20 minutes, toss it. If you can replace for less then $20 AND in less than 20 mins don't think twice.

Adjust 20 minutes or $20 for whatever feels right to you but make it reasonable and be honest.

My husband does this and he had a great childhood and from a UMC family. Overall he has some traits of ADD (hyper-focus especially) and OC so it may be something built into genetics.

Well, at least you have stable home where the stuff can sit. I have had to move many times for different reasons and I recognized that stuff is not helping at all. Clutter was a drag and burden.

1. Read Mari Kondo's book...

She lost me at "All paper is garbage".

What about books kids insist on keeping for "another 10 years"

Anonymous wrote:I recently got rid of several things we haven't used in years and what do you know, I immediately needed them.

That's the worst! What was it? I've done that before too. Blender and humidifier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Old glasses, even just the lenses, expired meds (may still work, what if I need it?) I never had much I don't buy anything hold onto everything until its broken or has holes. Even my cars 20 years old. Please help fix me.

Let yourself be yourself. If you want to hold onto it, then hold onto it.

Thank you ❤️

Two things have helped me with this:

1. Read Mari Kondo's book and only keep things you know to be beautiful, useful, or spark joy. If you are struggling to get rid of something, hold it in your hand and thank it for the service it provided to you. Then release it to the garbage (or donation bin).

2. If you struggle to part with something due to sentimentality, take a picture of the item so you have something to remember it by.

My sister was struggling with this sort of thing, and what really helped her was putting $20 aside in an envelope labeled “clutter replacement”. Having money set aside to rebuy anything that she decluttered that she realized she actually needed allowed her the mental space to get rid of anything that had a replacement value of $20 or less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Watch an episode of Hoarders online. That will kickstart your progress with purging stuff, I promise.

Not saying you’re a Hoarder! It’s just a powerful cautionary tale.

I like that show but since I don't have much it seems so much harder. When there is piles or trash it seems so obvious mine issues are suttle but yeah I get the motivation part. Thanks.

If you don't have much clutter and your house is tidy and pleasant to live in, then by all means hold onto whatever you feel like. Most house would be cluttered with too much stuff.

Throw away something by breaking it purposefully. Too bad so sad, into the trash you go.

OP worshipping junk isn't going to fix your pain.
It just gives you something else to focus on. Get rid of stuff. You can hire people to help you.
Then you can focus on a new life.

Anonymous wrote:Arlington Public Library used to have boxes where you could donate old glasses. I think it is a Lion's Club initiative or something like that.

Donating can be great if you actually do it, but a characteristic of hoarders is hanging onto something until they find the exact right home for it. Often they save things the donation place was "too full" to take (i.e. they don't want it but don't want to be mean) or save things for certain recipients.

Put the item by the door and take it with you to the donation box the next day ... or else trash it that day.