On Mental Breakdowns and Getting Rid of Stuff

I want to be doing this right now, but I have so much danged stuff I *have* to do.  By have, I mean there is so much I WANT to do, and being that it is mostly writing, I feel COMPELLED to do it, and while this is normally well and good enough, I sometimes overwhelm myself and then have a mental breakdown.  When this happens, after I go through acts of tears and violence (might involve throwing some offending object, such as a paper towel), I recognize that the only thing I can really do is to relax.  Such as with a choice summer issue of Vanity Fair.  But then I read an article that reminds me I have things I want to do, such as an article on musicals.  And then I go drink framboise.

That is yesterday.  Today should be better.  I exercised.  I read poetry.  I drank my full morning allotment of coffee (three cups, yikes).  Moving on.

As you can see, the scarf discovery really took hold of me.  It's a good antidote for my compulsion to thrift: I will still thrift, but just for scarves.  And even then, I will only thrift when absolutely necessary - when people want to go.  I love thrifting.  You know this.  But I need to get rid of stuff, not add more and more.  I HAVE NO MORE ROOM IN MY CLOSET.

As this is the case, and because I am smote at present by my abundance of worldly possessions, I am going to comb through my closet AGAIN to find things to get rid of... with a catch.  See, I have things I know I don't wear and probably won't wear.  But these are things I just don't want to get rid of - cool jewels, clothes with a nostalgic connection.  My solution?  First, I'm going to see if there is actually some way to wear the item (mostly in the case of jewels).  Then, I'm going to pack everything up.  And stick it somewhere else.  And take it out later.  And see if it's so necessary that I keep it around.  Maybe this is a dumb exercise, but I don't really know how to get rid of some things.  I admit it.  Maybe there are better strategies.  Maybe I should just suck it up, oust the guilt and OCD-ness, and just sell all the stuff.  Thoughts and suggestions welcomed....

Comments

[Carra]

get rid of it! maybe we should have a contest. we should see who can get rid of the most pounds of stuff by the end of july! pretty sure i'll win. ;)