It took having my own costume shop for me to stop hanging on to clothes-but when I was an amateur costume designer, I usually regretted getting rid of things. There is one red wool LL bean sweater that I had in high school that I could have used 100 times and I got rid of, and I still regret it. Now I take things like that to the costume shop, and when we run low on storage I have so much more experience in getting rid of things that will never be used and getting rid of things that are easily and cheaply replaceable. So I don't hang onto tones of white dress shirts that were cheap to begin with and get yellow with age, but a vintage shirt with an interesting pattern or color gets kept. Before I had the costume shop, I had a whole second bedroom full of potential costumes. I wish I could leave the job and still have access to the storage and the work facilities because I would like to do independent things again.

Mom has too much stuff. I don't have much stuff. I don't have room for it. And I have some stuff in Florida in storage. Things I'm hoping I can get up here so o can go through it all.

I have collecting tendencies but between the moving , limited space and money it's been curtailed on some ways.

Also I really like Tiny houses. I think I want to live in one someday.

Hoardish family members are good warning systems for me. Cleaning out my parents' place multiple times was definitely inspirational. Now I'm down to one smallish box of my mother's stuff, and a photo album of Dad's photos.

In a total change of subject: Here is a marvelous political filk set to The Room Where it Happens: [link]

Timelies all!

The only thing I tend to hold on to in significant quantities is books. Of course, I'm small potatoes compared to many of my friends.(One of whom quipped that he was saving for his retirement.)

I will say that clutter and crowded rooms do not bother me. I find them obscurely comforting, tbh.

I understand this. It's like having a big hug from your history.

I saw a story a while back that showed memory-impaired people suddenly telling detailed stories about their pasts when they had their mementos handy. I didn't argue about Hubby hanging on to things because seeing them would trigger his memory, which had taken some damage over the years.

This conversation is killing me.

I have trouble getting rid of books, but I don't really have any psychological attachment to most other stuff. Stuff in my apartment just piles up because I'm really not good at putting things back where they belong, and then a combination of physical issues and just being overwhelmed at all the stuff makes me not really able to deal with the mess. I was doing a thing for a while with setting a timer each night and spending 15 minutes just picking stuff up and putting it where it belongs (which was often the trash), but I stopped doing that when my hand was really bad and I couldn't really pick stuff up. I should start doing that again.

I have too much stuff because I like thrifting and collecting art supplies. Bring on the Pyrex and the books, I can't get enough. However, I also like seeing my floors and being able to plop down on any of my comfy chairs. Thus I made a very stern rule about bringing things home: I have to know exactly where I will put it. clothes and books get donated occasionally.

Learned a great tip for picking through the hoard that totally works for me because I'm very visual. Pick one shelf or drawer. Dump it all out and immediately notice things to get rid of. So easy and effective enough for the junk drawer and the towel closet too.

I have too much stuff because I like thrifting and collecting art supplies.

I finally had to tell myself that not every black lace skirt needed to live in my closet, and that the Evil Bunny Alliance needed to leave covert recruits to infiltrate other people's houses.

My team is ridiculous and likes to celebrate everything, so we just had coffee for my 90 days here, and it was actually perfect. It's super hot here today, so we got our drinks (AND they had iced hibiscus tea aka my favorite drink in the world) and took a little stroll in the shade, and it was an excellent use of a half-hour.

The end.