Stepping out of my comfort zone...
Well, yesterday was the first day after all that happened that I got outside and socialized a bit. I went with 17 other people on a hike in the forest, and it was fun. But I've changed.... normally I'm the person blabbing incessantly, usually out of nervousness. This time, I just quietly listened to everyone elses' conversations or just the sound of my own footsteps when things were quiet. It was a beautiful hike and the company was awesome....
Saturday nights I usually sit in front of my TV and watch ghosts stories, which I did again last night, but last night, I got to thinking about the X... MISSING him more last night than I have in the whole time we were apart after the divorce. Memories still keep coming...
I know this is going to take a while to pass... the grief... but I also know I can't just sit here and mourn. Time is ticking by too fast.... and I've GOT to get started. So today I'm trying to get my life more organized... figure out what's what for my finances (hadn't updated in a while), got to get started on that schooling, and in the process I'm teaching myself how to let go. As I look around my house, I see I've got the beginnings of a hoarder. No, the house isn't bad, it's just that I've got STUFF stashed everywhere... in dressers in my crafts room... in the bottom of the dog food cabinet... in my love chest... closets overflowing.... Stuff I hang onto for no reason. Stuff that makes me feel a little panicky as I think about getting rid of it... Clothes that don't fit and probably never will... stuff used up but hold memories and most of the time not even good memories.... stuff people have given me (why? who knows, but it's not stuff I will use)... Looking at it all is a bit overwhelming. I can see already that this is a week long job or more and emotionally going to be difficult...
SO, I'm about to sign off for the rest of the day today as I get started... Wish me luck! LATER!
Saturday nights I usually sit in front of my TV and watch ghosts stories, which I did again last night, but last night, I got to thinking about the X... MISSING him more last night than I have in the whole time we were apart after the divorce. Memories still keep coming...
I know this is going to take a while to pass... the grief... but I also know I can't just sit here and mourn. Time is ticking by too fast.... and I've GOT to get started. So today I'm trying to get my life more organized... figure out what's what for my finances (hadn't updated in a while), got to get started on that schooling, and in the process I'm teaching myself how to let go. As I look around my house, I see I've got the beginnings of a hoarder. No, the house isn't bad, it's just that I've got STUFF stashed everywhere... in dressers in my crafts room... in the bottom of the dog food cabinet... in my love chest... closets overflowing.... Stuff I hang onto for no reason. Stuff that makes me feel a little panicky as I think about getting rid of it... Clothes that don't fit and probably never will... stuff used up but hold memories and most of the time not even good memories.... stuff people have given me (why? who knows, but it's not stuff I will use)... Looking at it all is a bit overwhelming. I can see already that this is a week long job or more and emotionally going to be difficult...
SO, I'm about to sign off for the rest of the day today as I get started... Wish me luck! LATER!
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An update... got through all the paperwork I needed to get done; finally got Christmas put away, threw out 4 bags of garbage already. I\'ve still got a full day\'s work to do, but I\'m way farther into this than I thought I\'d be.... feels good!
Hugs to you! Keep moving :)
As you work through this de-cluttering process, you will start to feel a whole lot more FREE than you have for years. I, too, had a penchant for hanging onto things for years - for so long that I found things I had NO IDEA what I had even bought them for! We tend to \"store up nuts for the winter\" when something in our lives isn\'t right. My \"thing\" was greeting cards and wrapping paper! I had enough wrapping paper, I still haven\'t used it up after almost 6 years! Yikes!
Just keep plugging away; go from one project to another in 30 or 45 minute intervals if you find yourself getting bored or overwhelmed with just one of them. And if you are a \"list-maker\" you will be able to check off the projects you have accomplished as you work along, which also is a measure of your progress. xoxox
Good for you, I am doing the same!! We sound so similar in our starting of a hoarder mentality. Every so often I have wondered about asking a frined to help me get rid of STUFF and then I get panicked that they will be insensitive in doing it. But I am determined to do it myself this year, and have also made a start. Good Luck!!!
I\'ve made a start on my clutter. I really need to have a yard sale and then junk the rest.
I figured the time and effort involved in having a yard sale and all the things that could go wrong with one -- like RAIN. Ended up DONATING most of my accumulated stuff to Goodwill and other local non-profits. Took them as WRITE-OFFS (charitable contributions) on my income tax at the end of each year. For me, that was the best way to deal with all the stuff.
I have to be in a certain mood to declutter but when the mood strikes, I walk through every room in the house carrying a box. Once something goes in the box, it goes straight into my car and gets dropped off at one of my charities on my very next trip to town. Just filled a couple of boxes today, as a matter of fact.
Because I am out in the boonies, lol, we\'ve (my best friends and I) found that posting it online on a Facebook garage sale site allows you to get it out there without having to go through all the planning.... they just show up, hand you the money, and take the stuff away!