Two things I've found help curb my spending: Window shop in really expensive stores (can't buy that $1,000 cappuccino machine even if it would be worth every penny), and ask myself "is this something I really need or is it just something I will need to dust?" You'd be surprised how many things go back on the shelf when you ask yourself that question!

OH.MY.GOD!
Love the pic of Sobakowa.
I also need to start decluttering, but every time I look at all of the crap around me I feel so overwhelmed that I sit down with my knitting and slip into denial about it.

When you find that balance, please oh please let me know. I have a very scary basement at the moment and closets that can't be opened without stuff falling out.

First?
Cleaning out the junk is very much needed at my home too. I think a huge fire could be the answer. But the smoke could be too toxic.

I can relate! Everytime I get rid of a big pile of stuff, another one seems to grow in its place.

I'm not a garage sale-ing type, so I usually give my stuff away. I'm hoping this adds up to tons of good karma (god knows I could use it) and a navigable hallway. Because not being able to get to the hallway sucks.

I was just thinking, though, that its a bit of a chicken/egg thing. Do you need to get rid of it to feel lighter or feel lighter first and see if it slowly disappears because you don't need all that stuff anymore?

First of all, thanks for getting the Wilson Phillips stuck in my head now. ARGHHHH!!!!

Secondly, I say there is nothing wrong with a little burning. When I lived in Virginia, my friends and I would get together for a little fire if one of us had recently broken up with a guy. Nothing gets you over a guy like good friends, Jack Daniels, and his photo in flames.

Lisa, I totally hear you on the chicken/egg thing.

Sometimes I feel so comforted by my things. And sometimes I'm so sick of it all, want this kind of zen, clean space. My house has definitely improved three bazillion percent since I moved in, but now I'm feeling that "Spring Cleaning" urge again.

Of course, I have also been Tivoing every episode of Clean House lately, so ya'll know. Necie Nash is in my head ;)

OH!! Speaking of Clean House... if any of ya'll watch that show, you remember the episode with the cop who didn't want to give up the Harley Davidson T-shirts his daddy had given him? Anyway, he had this red-headed fiancee ... and I saw her driving her car in traffic the other day!!

Right on Aunt Purl!

Before Evil Ex left I consumed my weekends with errand running & shopping. Now that he's gone and I had to store all my belongings into a storage unit & move in with a friend, my whole view on "stuff" has changed. Now dont get me wrong...I miss my "stuff" and cant wait to unpack it(June 1st is my goal)....but the idea of buying more "stuff" when I own practically everything I need and then some sickens me. I'm a slave to Target...but it must stop. I now have a better & tighter concept of where my money is spent. But for now...I'm on a quest to just find a place to live that I can afford and will let me bring my dog. I cant wait to have my own garage sale & bonfire of Evil Ex's memories!

The Unasobakawa is Genius. And one needs levity when facing decluttering. I'm a packrat with a practical streak, so I used to be able to keep it under control - then I married a pack *squirrel*! I'm just going to believe there's hope for all of us.

or Ebay....

Excellent photoshopping for the Uni-cat look! Your writing is funny even when your subject is heavy. It's a style thang.

I totally relate! And my step-father is coming up in a week and a half with my mom, so I am at that need to declutter and deep clean state right now! It makes me want to hide away in shame (and in yarn)... If I had a garage, I could throw some of my crap in there...(and then have room for new crap - it's all a vicious cycle, you know).

I unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher last night, and felt like I'd taken the first step...even though I KNOW that I will have to do that at least a couple more times before they visit, since I'm not going to stop eating for the next week and a half in order to keep my kitchen cleaner longer. (Some things are not worth the sacrifice.)

I just realized I misspelled the Unasobakowa's name! Now I'll be first to be litter-bombed...

OH MY GAWD!! The unicatbomber! Too funny.....

I do know the feeling about "stuff." I am single with a two car garage and storage room and more crap that I can't possibly part with. Things I haven't worn or looked at or thought about in years and years. This past weekend I tried to trash a few things or at least make a pile of give away. I managed to shred copies of checks I deposited in my Dad's estate account when he died five years ago. Not really much of a dent.........and forget about two cars getting in my garage. I am going away this weekend and I have to neaten up for the dog sitter. It is this endless cycle for me. If anyone wants to come to my house and help just let me know. I will gladly supply the wine (and maybe I'll just give you some of my great "stuff"!!

I also went shopping this past weekend (and each night this week)for a group gift for a friend. I bought three different things for her and wanted one of each for me or just other things for me. But what do I need with yet another necklace or earrings?? Yeah, my clothes don't fit and I don't like the clothes in the stores so it is earrings, earrings and more earrings.

OK, enough of my neurosis! Thanks for your daily musings.

Laurie,
How freakin' appropriate that you should write about this today, 'cause I am moving tomorrow and have been going through pieces of my life all week. It's HIDEOUS. I was holding on to stuff I didn't even know I had. What makes us hold on to things we don't need? Is it not wanting to let go of the past? Or am I just lazy and can't throw anything away? And who are we without our stuff? And if I didn't have stuff, I would go and get some. Geez. Anyway, now I'm just too tired to care. PLUS, I have to move 4 cats to the new house tonight. Pray for me. Love and kisses to Roy and you.

Jann-- I love what you said here. "Who are we without our stuff?"

Catman=clutter, Me=purger, time spent decluttering? Priceless. And it does happen. My motto - "When I'm in retirement home X amount of years from now, am I gonna wish I still had this?" If the answer is no - it's gone. Also living in an apartment and having moved multiple times, if the stuff is still in the box from the last move - it's gone. No opening it to check it out. Gone. Purl? You need a ruthless friend who loves the wine to come help you.

O.M.G. !!!!!!! That pic of the UniCat made me spit my water! I call my daughter the unibomber when she wears her hoodies pulled up like Sobakowa. Thanks for the laugh! :)

Wouldn't that be a MEOWnifesto?

Hahaha. I might be more afraid of Unasoba if I didn't think her empire would solely revolve around petting her and feeding her and keeping the other cats out of her way (altho, if you did that, who would she get to beat down?), which only requires a few people. Maybe only one, YOU.

I was amazed at your de-clutter progress this year. I don't believe it takes you days of de-cluttering to get ready for friends any more!

Unasobakowa and her Meownifesto... I love it!!!

I read that when cleaning/re-organizing you should as yourself two questions:

1. Does it make me happy?

2. Does it make my life easier?

and if you can't answer yes to one of those, then throw it out!

OMIGOD - I sniggered out loud at that picture of Sobakawa! Great work :)

Jo

I love the picture of Sobakawa - great work :)

My one true love is my Photoshop...oh, and my Unakitten ;)

I've been decluttering for around 12 years. I've taken loads to the dump. I've had many garage sales. I don't go to Target anymore and went to Costco the other day coming out with a very small box. Then why is there so much crap at my house?? I never seem to get away from it!! I dump recyclying weekly full of mail and catalogs that I don't even tempt myself to look at. I try, Try, TRY to get it all together. My goal in life is to have my friend Christie over and she says "wow, everything's in perfect order". She said "give it up, it's never going to happen". I recently had three days to clear PILES of stuff out of my parents house...pee chees full of homework and old art projects. I forgot that I actually had talent at one time! I dumped boxes of old letters (I couldn't believe the letters my friends used to write probably in response to my long letters as well....we've lost that art with email and cheap cell calls!). It was torture for me and I continue to torture myself and "get rid of some stuff". Better go, I'm house sitting for a friend and I brought a bin of things to go through to throw away! (I'm not joking!)

Just one more little comment-I just moved my dad into a retirement community and we got rid of TONS of stuff-but now he keeps saying "I used to have this" and "I used to have that", he's very sad about it. I don't want to be like that either, you know?

I think the spring cleaning bug has bitten you - I know it has me, but I would be happy to just get through my home office. Who knew I had a trillion pages of internet knitting patterns sitting here?

As a certified pack rat, I can so relate. Especially to Vanessa's needing to sit down and knit after looking at all the stuff. Except in my case sitting down and knitting leads to feeling that I need to buy more yarn, because none of the 20 lbs (a rough and possibly denial-inspired guess) that I already have is exactly what I want to knit right now.

My DD recently cleaned her room, and it looks incredible. I told her she didn't have to throw anything out, she could just pack it all in boxes and we could put it in the attic. I should adopt the same strategy, except that most of my stuff is yarn (see above) and already in boxes, but I don't want to put it in the attic where the bugs could get it, not to mention it wouldn't be ready to hand should an urge to knit DK-weight alpaca (not THIS alpaca, THAT alpaca) strike me at 2 am.

But maybe if I put all the non-yarn boxes in the attic I could then figure out some better storage system for the rest... or maybe I just need to knit more. As soon as I buy more yarn.

I come from a family of holiday decor overdoers, as well. In my garage, next to the four ginormous boxes marked "Christmas" are two other boxes - one marked "Halloween" and one marked "Easter." I've never purchased one item in either box - everything has been gifted to me by my mom.

It's hard to fight genetics like that. You go, purly.

I'm not much of a how-to, self-help book reader/follower, but I love the book Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. I highly recommend reading it to get psyched for decluttering. I'm a cluttery mess and have way too much stuff - although I'm making a concerted effort at de-warehousing - except for yarn, of course. But, the book has helped me get it together. It's a cheap paperback book you can get at amazon and elsewhere.

Oh, and I need to lose about 40 pounds, which will really help.

Get rid of everything that does not bring you joy. That's the simple truth of it. Our house is very minimalist with what makes us happy. My sister's house is like hobby lobby threw up in there. She spends 2 hours just dusting. Ugh.

I love me some Soba, she reminds me of my calico I had 20 years ago. She's da bomb!

If you want I can smack you kind of hard for the Wilson Phillips reference, but shooting is a bit extreme. ;)

I feel your pain on the STUFF though. I find that each time I go through my stuff the things I thought I couldn't live without the last time are often easier to go through. It's a process.

So here's what I did, Grabbed a drink, thought about all the needy people who don't have anything and what of mine I would actually be helpful to them. Then I made three piles.

Pile One: Stuff that needy people could actually use or that someone would have a use for
Pile Two: Stuff that is too junky and no one can use or that was one sentimental for me (This pile goes into a garbage bag and out of your life ASAP before you can change your mind.)
Pile Three: Stuff I really want and can ACTUALLY use. I have to ask myself a few questions before it can stay in this pile. 1.) Will I ever REALLY wear/use this? 2.) Do I have something else that can do the same thing or better? Then if it doesn't have a real need it has to go away.

You can yardsale Pile One or give it to an organization that will use it to help people. Or you can do both, sell what you can and give away what doesn't get sold to get it out of your house/life.

Our stuff doesn't pay rent or the mortgage. Other than the cat I'm having very little patience with anything that doesn't pull its own weight around here. *L*

There is a calmness that comes from having less stuff to manage. You don’t have to clean it, move it or worry about it. Life may not be what Thoreau envisioned entirely, but it can be better than feeling overwhelmed to the things hanging over your head.

Oh and one more thing, after getting rid of a lot of your stuff you will then have to ask yourself if you REALLY need/want something when you think about purchasing something new. Do you have something already that can do what this item will do? Then when you do buy something new you don’t have to worry about the implications of taking on more stuff because you actually need/want it and will use it well.

Good Luck with making your life/stuff simpler. I’m still dealing with my stuff but I feel freer every time I empty a box and create blank space in my house. It’s more space to breathe and we all could us that. ;)

*OtterHuggles*

It is not living "smaller" but living simpler. To define/refine/find yourself, you do not have to label yourself by other people's ideas of what you should be and what you should have.

Have you tried Fly Lady? www.flylady.net :)

when we were packing the apartment where i had spent 8 years, i discovered two things:

how did i accumulate all this crap?

i am not a good mover.

so we moved all the crap. i was in a big rush to unpack, to make this funky old house "homey". but then i discovered that the smell of the horrid green shag carpet was more than i could take, so we packed up everything and put it in the basement, some in the garage.

it's been over three years now, and i still haven't unpacked. and i don't miss my STUFF at all. i love the refinished wood floors and uncluttered space.

the luxury of space.

i didn't even unpack all of my beloved books. our books and cds come from the library (then they go back).

i equate a cluttered house to a cluttered mind.

so you go, purly. here, we can just put stuff on the sidewalk and people will take it. set your stuff free.

I too L-O-V-E the picture of Soba.

I also, unfortuantely, know the oppression that is "house clutter."

Laurie ... I hope you see this ...

Wife and I had the same thoughts ... we are selling most of what we own on Saturday (except my collection of taxidermy, c'mon it's cool) and packing up a truck and moving to Colorado in two weeks...

ack!

That's what happens when you turn 40, you stop saying "I'd like to ... " and you actually do it.

should be fun, I'll letcha know how it goes... I have GOT to stop humming John Denver songs ..

chase

Holy Crap, Chase!!! You're moving to Colorado???? WOW. If you and the missus are happy, then I am happy for you, but just surprised my dad didn't tell me last night on the phone! Cra-zy!

As a fellow pack rat living in a way to small apartment (seriously- it's tiny) I feel your pain Laurie. My sister gave me a digital camera and an idea for X-mas. She takes photos of the thing- whatever it is- and then only keeps the picture. That way you have the memory without the crap. She says that half the time she looks at them she can't believe that she bothered to take the photo. Gotta admit in theory it sounds like a plan, now if only someone would show me how to use the damn NASA inspired camera!

And if we're going to quote song lyrics .. Jensen Bell's "Modern Dating Tips" album (a great album, released last year, he's a Silver Lake hipster, you should go see him) has a great line:

"Set fire to everything that keeps your life from happening."

And now I have Wilson Phillips in my head. Thanks for that.

Living smaller does help. I've been awfully resistant to buying lots of furniture and other things because my teeny tiny apartment stays much neater when there's less crap to be had.

My basement flooded last August, and I finally had a good excuse to throw away momentos and useless things I'd been saving since highschool. I was bummed that many of my photos were ruined, but once I got over that, I became a purging fool. I went through the house again a few weeks ago and got rid of even more stuff. And, dropping it off at Good Will makes me feel less guilty about getting rid of it. It is such a freeing feeling!

Yes yes yes, I agree with Joelle! www.FlyLady.net is fantastic - she has a VERY simple system for decluttering and getting life (and finances, and body) into order without a whole lot of stress or feeling like you're giving up a lot of time and energy. It's very empowering and not overwhelming AT ALL.

Since I went on her website (about a year & a half ago), I've gotten rid of TONS of stuff from my house, 20 lbs, and almost $14,000 in debt. And best of all? It's FREE. :D

Good luck with it! And yes, life is much better when it's purged!

It's what happens in the Spring. To me at least. My crap becomes unbearable. Martha starts talking about spring cleaning (http://www.marthastewart.com/images/pdf/0405_springcleaning.pdf;
jsessionid=CY4CSMFVZQZITWCKUUWSIIWYJKSS2JO0) and suddenly I'm washing my windows and vacuming the grates with that overwhelmed panicky feeling knowing that my bedroom is covered in cat hair and dirty clothes and dust bunnies that normally give me no pause. And I just want to give away everything I own and live in a house with white walls and plastic washable furniture. Crazy time. - Anyway, I also wanted to let you know I've been thinking about you and Roy and have been sending healthy thoughts your way. Hang in there.

I hear ya. I live in a bachelor apartment, and I have a lot of stuff. You can't really tell because it's somewhat hidden or disguised, but I think it's nuts. I'd like to downsize a lot more, just because it's easier when moving, looks nicer, and just plain feels better.

Oh my God. The Unasoba. I'm going to hide now. :)

The Unasobakowa is just too much. I spit soda all over my keyboard. I, too, have been tossing things out. Very liberating. I haven't even looked in some of the boxes...just tossed them, one a week into the dumpster. Crazy maybe, but freeing.

I think it was William Morris who said, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". See, you kept the kitties (both useful in their own inimitable way and beautiful) and ditched some stuff that was neither useful nor beautiful. When I get my income tax refund I am going to www.napo.net and getting a professional organizer, this situation is driving me to despair. Not a happy place.

Yes, less stuff = cleaner house. I know because we have just put our house on the market and in honor of showing it to complete strangers unloaded a bunch of stuff we don't use anymore. You can see the back walls in all our closets. There is nothing on top of the fridge.

(Granted, we have a big old house. But the principle is the same. Less stuff is very freeing.)

Sobakowa is gorgeous! Very suave. If she were male, she would be a "confidence man" as my Dad would say. How 'bout La Femme Nikitty (groan)?

I grew up poor and my Mom used to say "If I can't eat it, wear it, live in it or drive it, then I don't need it!"

Also, whenever you buy something, you are making someone else rich.

I did really great when I was on my own regarding lack of clutter - but something about buying a house and living with my last couple of boyfriends who grew up well off and were totally consumer threw that off. I am planning to do a big de-clutter this summer . . .

just make enough room for the yarn.

Decluttering is a very good thing. It starts with your home & then onto your "self". WTG CAP! & like a PP said, Make room for YARN!!!

De-cluttering --- YEAH! Every week on my days off I seem to get a huge garbage bag of stuff to give away and another to throw away. It seems like it is getting better around here, except maybe for my own office. I have a fabric stash and a yarn stash and a paper stash and a paint stash. ARRRGGGHHH....I have found that trying to have a NO DRIVE DAY every week has helped me come to peace with some of this chaos. I need to make even more peace. Sighhhh...

And I am strangely interested in the MANIFESTO.

Has sobukowa been to busy to post on her myspace page?

oh, and if you get a no drive day each week, you get seven weeks of not driving. I think that is cool.

When I moved last summer, I totally de-cluttered. We had to move everything ourselves, so the laziness of not wanting to carry unwanted items outweighed the laziness of not wanting to go through my crap & get rid of stuff. But now I keep looking for things that I used to have and can't remember if I gave it to Goodwill or not. :(

You can declutter your Upcountry my direction. See what a good friend I am?

You're not the only one who's done the late night BBQ the Ex. Of course, I planned mine right after the divorce was final. Like the next day. But that's me, and I'm an evil wench.

Hang in there, it gets easier, and yes, as you clear stuff out it makes you feel all shiney and new.

Hey, Laurie! They are right about www.flylady.net , she was the most inspiring person to help you understand why you need to de-clutter. It's so great. I don't miss anything that I gave up and I only keep the things that I really, really need and love. I don't have to spend days on end just to have company over. Heck, I don't have to spend ANY extra time cleaning, because it's already clean! It really did change my life and the way I think about "housework". Give it a try!

Hi, I love that picture of Sobakowa! Genius!

I third the motion. everyone and i mean EVERYONE needs to check out flylady.net.

her routines will make weekend errand running a vague memory. and clutter will be gone.

Unikitty! Thanks for the morning laugh.

Since the first of the year, I have a box in the garage that I've been putting "stuff" that I don't think I need anymore. At the end of the month if I haven't taken it out (and I haven't), off it goes to Goodwill. I now have 3 cupboard shelves emptied (o.k., so not completely empty cause other stuff [yarn] has moved in), and more on its way out. I mean, do I really need 23 coffe mugs with cute sayings on them? And that was just for starters.

i thought i had it all figured out. in a moving-decluttering frenzy i reasoned with myself, "what is a couch really, but a bed in the living room?" so i gave it away. and the t.v. yup. that's right. i thought i'd get more work done (i work from home), watch fewer movies, have more space...

i f*cking MISS my couch! on the flip side, i have a great reading chair now instead. the only problem is guest seating (heh).

Here's how I've limited my stuff. I'm gonna say upfront that it's HARD but it's worked. (I have a toddler so you can imagine the crazy buying that can occur with a kid!) If I buy anything new, something old must go. Buy new shoes, an old pair goes. New purse, old purse gone. Same with clothes, clothes for my child, household items. My pile of crap doesn't get much smaller but is sure doesn't get bigger. Oh yeah, I include yarn and books in there, too. Talk about thinking through a purchase!!

I don't know if you read all the comments you receive,but if so, i can totally relate to what you're saying in a way. My Dude and I and our dear puss puss lived in a 4 bedroom house that was crammed with crap we neither used or wanted or needed. So we went Anti one day and sold nearly everything we owned (ok, it wasn't all gone in one day, but you get the point) and we moved into a 1 bedroom condo. We feel so much lighter and we have tons of room for what we NEED and a little bit of room for things we want. Want to curb your weekend shopping sprees? Go ahead and go to the retail outlets, but before you buy something ask yourself if you have a place for it in your house. If you don't have any room to put things, you won't buy it. Trust me on this one.
Best of luck.

Oh yeah! I'm in line for the book... Fredom from STUFF, but not too free.

I'll buy it. Write it!

unasobakowa!

I hear ya on the decluttering. I've been doing that very thing in my house... all things jackass-related have left the building and the rest of my own clutter is up on ebay. It's really easy to get overwhelmed with ginormity of it all so I do bits at a time.

My dad loves to tell me about how he drove out West as a young man with everything he owned in the car, and if he bought something, he had to throw something else away! Not totally a tall tale either; when he and mom moved into a condo, they made a rule that either of them could buy what they wanted for the condo, as long as they figured out where it was going to go first. It's worked for them!

As to the burning stuff, anyone else remember that episode of Friends where the girls want to break the bad boyfriend cycle? Phoebe says they should burn things from old boyfriends, and when the others hesitate and ask if there's any other way, she says they could dance around naked, you know, with sticks. Result? Burning's good ... and the firemen arrive in the end.

Amen Sistah!!! I so understand your questions/dilemma. I think living smaller may help both you AND I on several levels. My problem is ... where to start! I think this must be a common problem among cancerians. Maybe?

If you'll come to Charleston and heartlessly declutter my place, I'll come to CA and do yours. I moved from a Four bedroom home with my ex to a small two bedroom apt that makes it seem that I just move stuff from room to room.

Some book references: either of Karen Kingston's books on Feng Shui. Neither one gives Feng Shui overload, but the Clear Your Clutter book is h-e-l-p-f-u-l! Also, check out Apartment Therapy, book and website. I feel your pain. I'm in a very small and dark 2bedroom with my SO and his two teen boys. We. Are. Cramped. At least you have a garage to hold the overflow...

Maybe you could start an alpaca farm?

Soba Wear - Enhance your Million Dollar Cat Fund by selling wearables etc. featuring photos of the Unasobakawa, Roy, et al - Such photogenic cats shouldn't be limited to the Blog world!

The resemblance between your cat and the unabomber is too much. I just spit coffee out my nose.

As for stuff - we are a nation of people obsessed with what we own - we drive planet eating deathmobiles because they are a status symbol, and we rock sheets on our beds from Tarzhay because they have Issac Mizrahi's name on them. This is why we have the dumbest man in the world running the country right now. As long as we can be blissfully distracted by our consumption, who cares about all that other crap? More people in America know who's still in the running for American Idol, than who's running for their Congressional seat in November's election.

That's scary. And sad.

Something tells me Soba is not going to forgive you for this picture easily...top cats tend to hold a grudge.

As for the purging ... you're making good progress. My rule for clothes: did I wear it in the past year? If not, is there a specific need for it to be in the closet? No? Gone. If you think you'll miss it, take a picture.

Same for *stuff*. If it hasn't been utilized or doesn't have a specific foreseeable purpose, dump it. Sure, you may come to a point where you coulda used it if you still had it, but there's plenty more *stuff* in the world.

Just don't touch the cats' stuff -- there will be hell to pay. (Or at least put bacon in its place.)

P.S.
Have you considered posting your yard sale *stuff* on here? Maybe you could barter for wine....

It's amazing how much crap you can acquire that you don't even realize you have. Two years ago I downsized from a 2 bedroom home to a 1 bedroom apartment. Despite donating piles of stuff to the Salvation Army and throwing away loads more I still don't have enough room. I always intend to work on downsizing my clutter but life is short.

If you pick something up and it doesn't make you smile, then get rid of it.

Also, have you checked out Freecycle.org? I cannot bring myself to have a garage sale, and I have gotten rid of some great stuff that I posted on Freecycle.

I, however, found that all the Flylady e-mails just added more clutter to my life.

Since fully 90% of our belongings have been in storage for almost 8 months I can attest to living simply is very possible. Not about yarn though.

I figure when I get my stuff back (and we purged 2 dump loads full when we moved up here) it'll be like shopping!!

I hear you sister! After having to move to a smaller space, I also am facing the continuous battle of decluttering. I keep telling myself that this point its about experiences, not stuff. Good luck.

I ususally get discipline about clutter when I realize I'm out BUYING STUFF for my STUFF.

I need storage boxes.

I need sheves to put my storage boxes on.

I need an outfit to go with these shoes I never wear.

I need clear boxes for my shoes so I don't forget I have them.

I need that basket to put my current knitting project in, because all my other project baskets are full of unfinished projects that I should probably frog.

Then I go back to square one and look at other stuff I put in storage boxes a year ago and realize either "hey, I thought I lost this and I've now bought its replacement" or "I thought I threw that away, why didn't i throw that away?"

My mom's house is cluttered with cheap junky dusty stuff she holds on to because she thinks she might find a use for it someday. I do NOT want to live like that!

So, one step at a time. My biggest issue is parting with stuff that was EXPENSIVE. I'm just dipping my toe into the waters of eBay this week. We'll see.

Good luck.

How timely is this. One of the local morning shows had a specialist in to talk about Horders and hording behaviour today (this in response to the discovery of yet another *truly* crazy cat lady~90+ cats). And well, the description made me squirm a bit. While not quite far enough along to qualify as a mental health issue, my clutter is taking over. It's supposed to be a crappy weekend weather wise, so I do believe I know what I'll be doing.

Liza {who just wishes she could get the offspring on board with this}

I decluttered, once. Very simple, move onto a 25 foot sailboat. Everything else went into a $75/mo. storage unit. Then, every week a box came out and it was sorted: dump/goodwill/need for the boat.

2 years later I moved onto a 32" boat with exactly what I needed. It was wonderful.

But it really is an ongoing battle...When I moved into a house again, wow, where did all this stuff come from? And when I fled from Hawaii I had 2 suitcases and 2 boxes...(18 boxes had been mailed to my mom's house, 90% teaching things.) But moving up to Washington a few weeks ago??? My mom just kept laughing when I kept asking her where all this stuff came from??? 2 suitcases and 2 boxes turned into 3 bins 2 boxes and 4 bags!!!

I just cleaned my room this morning...I can't believe how much we acquire in such short time spans...

Last month I spent two weeks helping my MIL move her blind 93 year old mother into her home. At one point I had to tell her I packed thirty year old spices because she was worried she would not be able to find them to make her special cookies. She has not cooked anything since 1984. It was an interesting experience dealing with that kind of mind set where every "thing" is precious once it enters your home. When I got home I immedietly began to collect huge piles for GoodWill.
P.S. Yes I threw those spices away, I live in another state and it will be months if not years before she figures out they are gone.

Oooh, some good advice here, thanks ya'll. Plus! I hadn't thought of UnaSoba t-shirts, but that is a good idea ;)

*applause* i'm with you, Laurie. Working slowly through the pile i have accumulated as a result of inheriting my mother's pack-rat-ness.

Your Wilson Phillips reference had me running for the Billie Holiday album in an effort to get "someday somebody's gonna turn around . . ." OUT. OF. MY. HEAD! Thanks. ;-)

Okay, apparently I am the only person in the United STates who was so tramatized by the Unibomber that jokes, all these years later, referring to him still freak me out.

I think I saw an Unsolved Mystery at a particularly sensitive time in my childhood or something, because even poker players call themselves the unibomber, like, willingly.

my dear dad recently sent me a few small cardboard "i've been keeping this for you' boxes with stuf from my past... sweet of him. i went thru things (a few letters i took to my therapist to prove that my college years were actually HELL), a few photos from our life overseas that were nice to have (and in a shoebox now... oh dear...) but every other thing that he has saved, moved, stored, and cared about all these years.... i threw away!!

which got me thinking about the FOUR boxes off every single paper my children (who are now 15 and 11) ever colored on, glued something to, wrote a poem on, etc.. Hmmmm, I thought, are they going to want those boxes of abc's and drawings of trucks when they are in their middle age? as wedding presents? um, maybe never? so this was a first de-cluttering freedom moment.
also i used to think i was crafty. i'm not. i gave all my rubber stamps (embarrassing $$ there!) to a friend who is crafty. and i pitched out a bunch of junky old stuff i was keeping for a "seasonal table" (waldorf, anyone?) but never really managed to create. so that was a little corner of one closet or so. but there is so much stuff it is truly overwhelming.

i cleared out duplicate items or never used items from the kitchen and gave away to goodwill (i am too neurotic to do a garage sale). next stop: selling books to the half price store for store credit which i use for presents....

our problem is paper. the four of us pile it on every surface. my son's sheet music, my husband's "i'll work on this at home pile." my freelance work files (actually,they are tidy) and my younger son's homework. ARGH.

Ah, I am cleaning and de-cluttering in preparation for family coming to stay (in our 800 square foot house! to sleep in my office!) and it is consuming my life. I have never been able to get control of the stuff (I live in a tiny house! it's not my fault!), but would like to as you do. Of course, this coming hurricane season could take care of it all for me... but I truly hope not. I hope you pass on any new tips on clearing out!

Michele... I am in a 900 sq foot house, so I feel you. And gail! Sorry to add to the trauma!!

I have the greatest book on clutter-clearing. It is called "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston. Don't let the title scare you away. You don't need to believe in feng shui to get a lot out of this little book.

I wish you luck with the clutter-clearing. I am a great believer in simplifying so that you can concentrate on the things (not just the material ones) that bring you the most joy.

less is MORE.........i believe it is a zen saying......good luck!

I totally know what you mean. I feel so.. i don't know.. imprisoned by my stuff sometimes. There are days I wake up and jus twant to throw out everything that isn't electronics or knitting related.

I'm trying to apply that sentiment to acquiring less, I think its a great goal.

One site: flylady.net -- she is all about the decluttering without pain. No more living in CHOAS -- and keeping the things that truly make us happy.
I love her!!! Big believer.

"Sometimes the past seems too big for the present to hold."

-- Chuck Palahniuk

I recently realized I needed to start getting rid of more stuff. I looked around and noticed that my mental state was directly related to how much stuff I had. My brain is cluttered and full of crap I don't need.

The funny thing is that before I moved to portland (1.5 years ago) I got rid of half + of my un needed junk. I moved into my current apartment one year a go and I still have boxes half unpacked and lying around.

Now to find the motivation to actualy get these things done... That's my real problem.

Appropriate topic since Jay Leno and Kim Basinger were discussing this very thing last night on the Tonight show.

Personally my theme song is this song by Diamond Rio.

http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/diamond-rio/stuff-3253.html

Hubby agrees :)

You inspire me. I have boxes that I packed 10 years ago when I had to move after my ex left. I have just recently felt like I could go through them. I go through them with a cold heart and a bunch of stickies for prices cause I am selling it all....really cheap, lol. Kiss the kitties for me.

I began a savage de-cluttering campaign last month. The first phase lasted 4 days, and consisted of me a) cleaning out my storage unit (no more monthly rental costs!), b) sorting the junque into "Keep" and "Goodwill" piles, c) making approximately 400 Goodwill runs, and d) subjecting my closets at home to the same treatment.

I shredded old bills and gave away clothes that haven't fit since Bill Clinton was in office.
My old pots and pans will help someone start a new life on a shoestring. Plus, I made room for more yarn. That's a win-win-win situation!

Girl, i've been reading you for ages..outloud to the b/f too. ( we quote your 'i'm from LA' yell whenever we get frustrated with life - and we're in canada not Lala :> )
If you have time, i recommend listening to this:

http://scifiville.typepad.com/knitcast/
Choose knitcast #21 with Annie Modesitt.
It will help.
hugs
another laurie

Well, if you want another website to procrastinate with and to make you feel bad/motivated about spring cleaning try:

www.apartmenttherapy.com

i'm crazy addicted to it, but never follow its advice.

Laurie, I recommend you check out this book called 'Material World': http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871564300/sr=8-1/qid=1145484584/
ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1790379-8025445?%5Fencoding=UTF8

You don't have to buy it, just borrow it from your library. It is SO thought provoking. It makes you stop in your tracks to think that there are people in the world whose entire possessions fit into one single small bag. And if you thought Americans were materialistic, check out that Middle Eastern family that needed an aerial shot to display their possessions on a football field.

Laurie,
I want to live a simpler life too. I want to get rid of all the clutter and crap that I live in. Unfortunately, life, children, and knitting get in the way. Someday... ;)

All right lady, if you make another
WILSON PHILLIPS reference someone is going to have to slap you out of it. Soba looks like a bad ass kitty in the hoodie and sunglasses. Bet agents are leaving messages on your maching right now.

Me again. YOU GRILLED YOUR PHOTOS OF YOUR EX??? (Deep pause of new respect forming)

You, Laurie, rock! Wow that took some serious nerve, wine fueled or not, serious nerve.

Laurie,

2 night ago I started going through THE PILE. Otherwise known as boxes in "the office" to sort out and put in the big rubbermaid tub labeled "Archives" That is for stuff I don't need but can't yet bare to part with. (I only keep letters from old boyfriends and grandmas. Oops, have to keep that letter...I almost forgot I slept with him.) MISTAKE The letters from one particular...X...right to depressionville. THIS YEAR I swear I'll toss that old stuff, but some is so funny or reminds me that I was loved and cared for...Oh WAIT! He was a self-centered lying bastard, I forgot. Ah well. The depression passed and here's my favorite pretend interned girlfriend inspireing me to get on with my program and throw stuff out. I'm also aspireing to a simpiler life. The legs are even hairy but I live in Alaska so need the insulation for another 2-3 weeks. I need to clean the "office" so I can put the loveseat in there to make room for the BIG A** loom I'm getting in 2 weeks. The only thing I'm getting more of now is plants, and maybe yarn.

My "program" is also from the internets. flylady.net So forgive the plug of another on-line gal. Can't say it's all working for me YET.

That's one of my favorite words YET! So many possibilities.

Sharon

I started decluttering three years ago. I broke with my ex-bf of five years a year after I graduated uni. At that point, I was still lugging around high school yearbooks!

A year after that, I moved from that place into my friend's place to take care of it for her. So I had to declutter.

Then nine months after that, I went traveling for three months and had to put stuff in storage. So another bout of purging occured.

At this point, I felt pretty good about how much stuff I had. It was barely enough to fill half a storage locker, with all my important belongings in a backpack. At the age of 26! Most of my friends were getting married and filling up houses, and here I was, living out of a storage locker, traveling Europe!

When I came home I amassed a ridiculous amount of dvds and cds and just...stuff. I moved again six months ago and sent the important stuff to my mom's for storage (of which I'm pulling some of it out this weekend to sell before I move overseas!) and once again, I'm feeling really positive about having less in my life.

Clutter is clutter. I find a cluttery environment definitely affected the mental clutter in my life. I can't handle being in cluttery enviros now, and I used to be a packrat.

I think once you start downsizing, you quickly realize just how self-sufficient you can be on less. And you choose and buy things that really only essential or crucial or useful in many scenarious. Everything I own now has been a well-thought out, conscious decision.

Sometimes to change your behaviour or outlook, you just have to take a little action, train your brain differently.

I know I've experience clarity since downsizing. I hope you find the same thing! It's a nice thing to open a cupboard and see it organized with only the basics instead of junk.

Good luck!

Yet another vote for flylady.net. I set up my subscription so I get all the messages in digest form -- just one actual e-mail a day in my mailbox -- which made the difference for me. Not overwhelmed by e-mails, getting "flywashed," finally feeling peaceful at home.

remember, want & need are two different things (now if I could only get that through my own head).
On another topic, could you cut down on your commuting time by seeing if you could work at home one day a week? Some of your stuff could maybe be done on-line or by phone? I gather that can be tricky, though, if you have distractions but oh the time it would free up...

I started reading the comments on this post at work today while I was eating my lunch. And decided that one thing I could do right away was donate some books to a friend's garage sale. I had a ton of quilting books and beading books that I really never used. I kept the ones that really had some good stuff but still had quite a pile. Then I moved down a shelf. Now here's what's weird...

My current big interest besides knitting and my animals is dyeing yarn. I know very little about it and have only played, so far, with kool aid and easter egg dye. Great fun and thanks to Knitpicks, it's affordable. So there on a shelf is a book called "Yarns to Dye For" OMG I swear I don't remember ever getting this book, but there it is sitting here on the desk looking back at me!

Who knows what else I might find? I'm so excited!

I go on these sorting spells every spring it seems, now the trick will be to keep it less. Living in tornado alley, I sometimes ask myself "If this was gone in a tornado would I really really try to buy another one" Amazing how often the answer is NO

ok...i didn't have time to read through everyone's comments to see if anyone else has suggested this - but i have a friend doing the flylady.net system to clean/declutter your life. She loves it, you should check it out!

Laurie - I saw the cutest knitting pattern for a toy calico cat that put me in mind of your Sobakawa. It was on the Lion brand site -
http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/kff-pocketPetKitten.html?noImages=0

OMG girl, you are cracking me up with the cat pictures, where or where do you come up with this stuff??

I have been de-cluttering for about the last year and I LOVE IT, it's freeing, liberating....just get rid of it. you can do it!

Been readin' your blog for awhile now and boy, can I relate to this subject! I'm trying to do the same thing but I'm MUCH older than you & have so much stuff from all those years. But my new mantra is de-clutter my home and my mind will be de-cluttered, too. Hope it works!

Ok, I had some witty comments for you as well as what I think would have been supportive sounding comments (cause ya know I've been where you are and I get it) but damn if I didn't get to the unasobakowa pic and laugh so hard that any thought I might have had disappeared.

Two Things

First;
When you are tempted to buy one more thing the question should be "where am I goning to put this thing?"

Second;

There are three kinds of junk.
A. stuff you will use this week
B. Stuff you might use once this year.
C. Stuff you know you will never use.

Take care of A, store B for a year, C dump it.

That sounds simple, it isnt.

Dude, people without clutter? SCARE ME. Seriously. I once broke off a potentially fulfilling relationship with a guy who had a great house, but NO "STUFF".

And, I am so printing up that picture of Unikitty to put on a t-shirt. All hail the Mighty Soba.

I over the years have become a minimalist, and my husband is one too. My only exception is books (to a certain degree), since I need them for refrence for my practice. It is a constant battle, the battle of the "stuff", but I tell you I feel so much lighter (and hey, no debt) when I have only what I use and need. Good luck, sister! I grew up in LA and its tough there to downsize stuff!

Oh man, you must have peeked into my windows, except that I haven't been decluttering as well as you, so I still live in a sty. I've decided that the only way I'm gonna get motivated to clear out all the junk, (barring the advent of an Oprah "Clutter Diet"), is to move.

So I've started house-hunting. ;-)

You think I'm kidding?

Oh, and my current house -- also 900 ft². Seemed like enough space for one person when I moved in almost 12 years ago.

So, what happened?

Yes, Laurie, living smaller is the answer. When I moved out here last June, I cried my eyes out as I gave away about two thirds of what I owned and locked the door on my beautiful, 3000 square foot dream house for the last time. I, too, now live in a tiny Los Angeles shack, where I have to bob and weave just to get into bed. But you know what? I am so much happier. I try to tell my students every single day that money and possessions cannot buy happiness and I wish they would believe me. They just think of me as the crazy hippie lady who loves Thoreau just a little too much. But in the words of that crazy hippie, Thoreau, "simplfy, simplify, simplify."

i.am.scared.

the more of your blog i read, the more i think we may be twins seperated at birth, but several years apart. only you're funnier. and i'm fatter.

In the wise words of Robert DeNiro's character in the movie "Heat": "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

I had a great friend a few years ago whose method I strive to emulate: Get all the errands, shopping, laundry, etc. done during the week, and there will be nothing but free time for the entire weekend. It doesn't always work, but it definitely clears up some "me" time.

Simplifying is the way to go, but it's so hard when we're bombarded by messages everywhere telling us to buy, buy, buy.
An important part of it for me is avoiding advertising.
I decided that meant getting rid of TV. I still watch lots of movies and a few TV shows on DVD, but no commercials.
I'm also trying to avoid the fliers in the Sunday paper, most magazines, and catalogs. I didn't even look when bloggers flashed their stashes.
I just hate that I won't want anything before going to the mailbox, but once I leaf through that new catalog I suddenly feel desperate to own more crap.
Good luck.

If I haven't used something in 1 year, it comes under close Inspection, "is this thing worth my bother to keep?" Do I have to dust it, move it, hide it, maintain it, do I enjoy looking at it? If the answer is NO to any of the above, the final question is "is there any value to this" If the answer is NO then I give it away, If the answer is YES, then I sell it.

Life is to damn short, and I am to damn lazy to be a damn slave (cleaning, etc) to a Thing. I try to think....ok, you are moving cross country. What do you really want to clean, pack, transport, unpack, clean, put up.

In 1998 our lifestyle changed from owning a 4 bedroom bi-level home on 1/2 acre to traveling in a 38 foot long motorhome. Now that requires you to get rid of your stuff. We let the two sons take what they wanted, had a moving sale and made three trips in the truck to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store with the rest. Do I miss our stuff? Some of it I visit when we visit the boys, but as to the rest? Nah. It just tied us down. The memories don't weigh a thing.

Oh I love the unasobakawa!!! How cute is that???
It seems to be if the word manifesto is in something you know there is trouble!!
I am at a point that I would like to have a 4 room house so I couldn't have stuff. I have way way way too much stuff... (ever hear George Carlin's talk about stuff??) ... and I have no idea how to even ATTEMPT to slim it down.
Flylady Shmylady -- her big thing is to shine your sink....ok... gotta move the dishes first!!

Hi , Came upon your blog while doing a search for cats on google. You don't have to go to Greenland to experience COLD. Come to Canada! We enjoy those experiences you would like to have. Sitting in front of the fire, knitting, while the cats purrr at our sides from November until April.
Like your blog. Sounds very therapeutic.
SPC

Stuff, oh yeah. Hard when you come from a long line of packrats and shopping at Target is a comforting ritual. Maybe the first step is realizing how much time you can free up for knitting if you skip the trip to Target. THEN when you actually have experienced more time at home so that you can enjoy what you have you won't find you are using your weekends to acquire more STUFF in order to simplify the stuff you already have. I suddenly realized I was spending my weekends doing errands and was never home to enjoy the space I was working to make so pleasant. Something wrong with that picture.

Maybe you need more cats.

Your post practically came from my own brain. I'm going through the same exact thoughts. Is it the spring cleaning thing? I don't know, but good luck to finding simple. I'm looking right along with you.

I heart Super Target ...

First of all, having an ex picture bbq at 2 a.m. is hilarious. Second, we all have stuff. And you know what? Most of our stuff, in some way or other, feeds into emotional stuff. Like the way you felt about the ex vacation pictures. You burned them and you felt more free. But it was hard to let them go because it's always hard to let go of emotional stuff (and the stuff stuff that is really just a symbol for the emotional stuff.) So, I say, live simpler if you can. Get rid of stuff you don't need if you can bear to part with it. But don't worry too much about the stuff.

Flylady has some amazing tips/ ideas but truly the going slowly is the key otherwise one gets overwhelmed-(read-past experience) we thought we were moving and didn't I did the same thing as your christmas stuff gave it away without opening it. I have a friend and she decluttered by $ amounts. if I have to replace this can I afford to? like the five dollar range then up to 10$ then 20 etc. asically like Cali. S Fl has zero extra storage space-- does zero lot lines sound like fun? so either you pay to store your Stuff or get rid of it- we opted for downsizing our stuff. We had a 2 story barn and full basement in maryland. in s fl we have one car garage- turned into my sewing room- no outdoor storage and certainly no basement. try asking yourself--if I have to replace X item can I afford to? then get rid of it and IF you need it later then later time will tell.

I got married (for the first time) at 39 years of age. I had lived in the same apartment for nine years, happily single, and I had STUFF. HUGE amounts of stuff.(I had 6 giant bins of Christmas all by myself!) Husband-to-be had already done a massive de-clutter in his life pre-me. I got rid of a ton of stuff, and we moved into a 1500 square foot house. Ok, here's the point. We are planning on staying in this house. I have/had some emotional reactions to de-cluttering (it's MY stuff!, she wailed) all tied into identity and independence. Husband finally said "Sweetie, it has nothing to do with your stuff vs. my stuff. The fact is, the house just isn't getting any bigger." From then on, I've been able to happily purge (in stages) and resist buying stuff I just want but don't need by repeating that phrase. "The house just isn't getting any bigger." It took the emotions out of it for me, and really helps.

Darn you and your Wilson Phillips reference. That song is now stuck in my brain. I had no idea I even remembered that song.

I know how you feel about stuff, and free time. My fiance and I are living in his (deceased) grandfather's home, complete with all of dead-grandpa's stuff. And dead-grandma's stuff. And dead-uncle's stuff. Plus not-dead-us stuff. That's a lot of stuff in a tiny house. We have no idea what to do with a lot of it except that it MUST GO. I'm torn between renting a dumpster and having an estate sale (because I wouldn't mind seeing how much money we could get for dead-people stuff).