The Many Ways we Hold on to Things We Don't Need!

Lately, I have been working quite a lot on cleaning up my work space and throwing things away. Every now and then I just reach a point where the growing clutter in my surroundings starts to make me angry... so I have to do something!

Most of the time, I just "scrape off the top" and tidy up and process the most recently piled up stuff... but today I went a little more in depth, getting to some old bags and boxes.

I'd like to think that each time I do so, I am "gaining on it," in some greater sense of the word. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not...

Regardless, it never ceases to amaze me how much stuff we (meaning "me") end up accumulating, typically in the name of keeping it "just in case we need it later."

One of my bad habits — when I am sorting stuff — is ending up with a rather large pile of "miscellaneous" papers that I intend to "put away later," so they get set aside. And set aside again, over and over and over.

To wit, some of the old file folders I got into today had bank statements and supporting tax receipts dating back all the way to 2001! That's twenty one years, for those who are counting.

The ridiculousness of it is that the limitation for most tax related record keeping is typically no more than six years. But I suppose many people let that sort of thing slide by.

I suppose it's tempting to keep things related to "legal matters," even if you're not a so-called hoarder. One of the things I increasingly realize, however, is that we are not getting any younger, and there's going to come a time in the not too distant future when we'll be doing what many people do, as they age:

We will be moving to a smaller place.

And it definitely is easier to get of excess things you've been saving before you move, rather than "during," while you are trying to pack up. And we have rather too much stuff...

As part of today's process, I also started to pick a new round of "things" that need tp be put on eBay and sold. We have a fair amount of stuff that ended up with us after our respective parents passed away... and somehow got "integrated" into our household, even though we don't really need them, or use them.

But they have some value, so trying to sell them seems like a good idea... especially since we have been somewhat on financial rocky ground, for a while. A few extra dollars here and there are always welcome!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about YOU? Do you tend to save paperwork, "just in case" you need it? How often do you go through your things and perform a major house cleaning? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20220922 23:59 PDT
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