Hmph. I am not on Commune's IMDB page. I should rectify this.

If I get rid of them, I'm admitting that I'll never fit into them again.

I have successfully gotten rid of most of my clothes that I will never fit into again. The few sticky ones are the pieces that I wore and LOVED, and are now tragically out of style, and if I get rid of them, they'll be nigh well irreplaceable unless I buy them back for myself on eBay. So I have to keep them, just in case.

Of course, right now, I'm thinking of selling ALL of my never-gonna-fit eveningware to raise money for my corset. Which I NEED.

You're making it sound like he should stay dead...

There are those schools of thought that say it would save him (and me) some grief. The thought doesn't bother me anymore.

I should do these rants more often. I feel saner than I have in weeks.

If I get rid of them, I'm admitting that I'll never fit into them again.

Once again, Teppy is me. It doesn't help that I have the world's smallest closets. Other people dream of homes with whirlpool tubs and built-in appliances. I dream of walk-in closets.

Getting rid of clutter is really hard. You're not only getting rid of an object; you're getting rid of all the plans you had when you got that object, whether it's a computer or a ball of yarn.

But no, seriously, he's died THREE OR FOUR TIMES? And it never takes? Have you told him that's not healthy?

You're making it sound like he should stay dead...

I was going to say, it's healthier than the alternative.

You're not only getting rid of an object; you're getting rid of all the plans you had when you got that object

There's a British version of those "Throw it all out" shows where the person who's helping people get rid of things actually acknowledges the importance of sentimental/emotional value. I can't watch "Clean Sweep" anymore because those hosts always give the impression that only worthless people keep stuff for sentimental reasons. And don't get me started on their opinions on books.

You're making it sound like he should stay dead...

You could read it that way, but I really meant he should stay alive, and stop with the pretending to die in the first place.

Time to clean! First, to throw out all this trash.

I was going to say, it's healthier than the alternative.

Death is not always a bad thing. Stop the pain, move on to the next incarnation or whatever. Others disagree.

You just think you're getting rid of the plans, though. Getting rid, for example, of the giant treadmill that has been serving as a clothesrack and takes up half your bedroom doesn't mean you'll never be in shape, it just means you won't be using that particular object to get where you're going. The future is still as full of possibilities...and the present has less junk in it.

Signed, Dragged a 300-pound Treadmill to Three Apartments and All the Way to LA

And don't get me started on their opinions on books.

Me either. When someone says that if you've read a book once, you should get rid of it, it sounds like they're talking in a foreign language. An equally foreign concept is having bookshelves that you don't have anything on, which seems to happen with alarming frequency on decorating shows.

t says the woman with 9 large bookshelves

There is the strategy of giving it to some one who can use it and needs it - ie charitable thrift shops. You send it out into the world to bless some other person, while it gives you the blessing of not being clutter.

My "this is so not about me" christmas presents from my mother buy me actual pleasure in that way. It's the only way I can enjoy them, thinking that there is some woman or girl out there who will be thrilled with a spun-glass unicorn figurine. And? Knowing I don't have to give house room to it.