Friday Five: decluttering

1. What things do you like to hang on to?

I like to hang on to books & music, as in paper music. I can’t throw them out to save my life.

2. What is hard to let go of?

I can’t let go of pictures. I can’t cut them or throw them away. It’s crazy.

3. What do you have no trouble giving away?

I have no trouble giving away clothes, primarily because I love buying new ones. I usually try to get rid of something every time I shop, to keep the rotation going. If I’ve not worn something in a year, it goes. I have bags of clothes going all the time & when I get up to 5 or 6 I set up a Salvation Army pick-up.

4. Is there any kind of stumbling block connected with cleaning out?

Sometimes there is for maybe notes or cards that I’ve gotten. I keep the ones that have deep significance, but my first thought is that the person who gave it to me might be offended. Then I realize they won’t know, so I toss them. My only other stumbling block is laziness. I just don’t want to.

5. What do you like to collect, hoard, or admire?

While I do have too much stuff, I don’t so much “collect” anything. I do deeply love my books, but that’s it. I’m not a hoarder. I regularly “pitch & throw” as my Mom says.

Bonus: Tell us about recycling or whatever you can think of that goes along with this muttering about cluttering.

My willingness to get rid of stuff comes directly from my mother. She takes it a bit far, in my estimation, particularly when it comes to OTHER PEOPLE’S THINGS. To wit: the woman got rid of MY BED about a MONTH before we were to move. I was going to get a new bed when we moved, but she happened to get a good offer on it so she sold it & I spent a month on the couch. She also sold my collection of original hard-cover Nancy Drew books. I’m still angry about that one.