Donating My Stuff After Konmari.
This is part-three of my de-crap-a-thon.
If you missed: Part One, and Part Two.
As I discarded stuff, I piled it in the dining room.
We lived with Mt. Crap in the middle of the house for months.
I saw:
I have saved all of this stuff because the idea of discarding it gave me paralysis… questioning that paralysis has been transformative for me.
Also, it works for everything.
When I identify that something is giving me RANDOM UNNECESSARY CRAZY… I ask why.
And if the reason is NO REASON.
I say— no thank you get out.
The disco balls went to the dance studio— I am finished with them.
Books would have gone to the central branch of our county library— they have a massive bi-annual book sale. (Not old library books, patron donations.) Your library might have one too! I’ve discovered some of my favorite books at that sale— they are cheap so you can take a risk.
However, my books did NOT go to the library because I took them along with all my other stuff to Animal Lifeline thrift store in Warrington, Pa… they do great work supporting spay and neuter in Bucks County, and they have a cat rescue in the same shopping center.
Spay and neuter saves lives and prevents suffering.
Every year in America, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized… these statistics are from the ASPCA; they also tell us that newborn kittens are at the greatest risk.
Baby kittens, put to death at animal shelters, are born to the stray, feral, and unfixed cats who live in our neighborhoods.
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
TNR, community education, fostering.
I expected to drive away with an empty van and an abundance of residual anxiety about having ABANDONED MY THINGS.
But instead, I felt fine. I felt SPACE. I felt a pang of wishing I had known SOONER.
I see now that STUFF is emblematic of the problem with my brain— I do not differentiate between important and unimportant, so my solution is ALL.
I see now, that in my brain:
1. unwanted stuff is clutter;
2. clutter is suffocating noise.
Learning this about myself is so incredibly helpful.
Now we have come to this:
The Parable of the Sharpie.
I was addressing a box to take to the post office… I pulled a sharpie out of the pen-container— the tip was smashed and not good for writing. I recapped it, put it back, got a different one– ALSO smashed, I recapped it, put it back, got a different one…
But then I froze.
Do you see what has been revealed to me?
I can CHOOSE a life of no-crap-sharpies.
My brain gears smoked and screeched.
WHY HAS THIS INFORMATION ELUDED ME?
I dumped out the entire pen container and THREW AWAY pens I hate.
I was MAD while I did it.
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS SECRET TO LIFE?
WHY DID I NEED SOMEONE TO?
WHY ARE THE OBVIOUS THINGS NOT OBVIOUS TO ME?
What I’m reading:
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.
All humans should read this.
The writing is extraordinary.
Also, we need a place to live.
May 16, 2019 @ 9:58 pm
Earlier today I posted this under Part I and so I am copying here b/c I don’t think that will get seen: When I first read Part I, I thought NO! NOT HER, TOO!!!! I have not read the book/watched the show- I am totally distancing myself from ANY of this. I *LIKE* my stuff. Somehow, I missed Part II but life has been crazy lately, so I can see how it might have happened. Just now read Part III and went back and read Part II afterwards and then re-read Part I and here I am. So-these are my vices: I make quilts, mostly baby quilts. I make cards and like paper crafts but I do not scrapbook- mostly just make cards, stamp, die cut, etc., and I make vinyl monograms, etc. Recently, just 1 year ago, got VSMAC (vintage sewing machine acquisition disorder) and now have SEVEN vintage sewing machines (only 1 is a treadle, two others in cabinets) and i *love* it. I have some of my GRANDMA’S MATERIAL SCRAPS! This includes feedsacks from the WWII era. I have some of my mothers material scraps. I have my mother-in-law’s material scraps, and I have MY material scraps and we’ve been married 43 years next week. Now- in the last 3 weeks, it has come up that we need a different kind of house, we need first floor master…we looked at and have had an offer accepted on a house- bigger, more space for my STUFF, and also 1st floor master. Will be listing our house soonish- but I got to get it presentable. Hence- I am suddenly more open to the idea of getting rid of STUFF that I do not use, and really no longer want to use. and I’m not talking Grandma’s feedsacks, I’m talking craft materials for crafts I don’t do. I will probably not do counted cross stitch anymore but I am keeping my box of embroidery floss because i use it to tie quilts, too. I found a shop called “Scrap it up” that takes craft donations, run by volunteers, sells stuff at very low cost. (can you believe I went in and donated and didn’t buy ANYTHING?) I am avoiding the fabric and paper craft sections of Hobby Lobby. I am driving past yard sales. I am NOT looking online for more random STUFF to buy. but I am still not willing to watch this MK girl…i Don’t want to say goodby to my stuff. BUT I HAVE TO GET RID OF SOME OF THIS ACCUMULATION! And what you said in Part III does resonate with me- the clutter makes a noise in your brain that suffocates…even as you think “I love my stuff and my memories of those times, etc.” Thank you. and I’m glad you’re not getting rid of ribbon cabinets, although if you *do* decide to downsize a thread cabinet…that’s something I’d love someday. 🙂 Mostly- I think three things when I read your posts: 1) You are at least half crazy. 2) Paul is a SAINT and I sure hope you realize how BLESSED you are to have him in your life. 3) Even though I think you’re crazy much of the time (i.e. all the AGONIZING over a refrigerator looking like a refrigerator!) you ALWAYS make me laugh. I’m sorry about Paul’s mother– my father had Parkinson’s dementia the last couple of years of his life and it made it like we lost him even before we lost him. It’s hard. Also- I’m not going to EVER have a cat and probably not a dog again…but I like seeing your pictures. Also- I was one of the ones who wrote in extolling the virtues of induction – so I was SO GLAD you chose that and I can’t wait to see when your kitchen finally gets done. and ALSO- our new house has GAS cooktop- our last house that had gas we lived in from 1985 to 1992….not sure how I am going to like this. we will see. If I hate it, I’ll switch it out and get an induction cooktop.
May 19, 2019 @ 10:38 am
Aren’t you glad you learned these things about yourself NOW instead of 30 years from now?
July 19, 2019 @ 1:24 pm
Not to derail your cleansing (although I really liked your alternative uses of disco ball clusters as decorations) but check out the new disco skull at Target!
https://www.target.com/p/disco-ball-skull-halloween-d-233-cor-large-hyde-and-eek-boutique-8482/-/A-54381202?clkid=60394234Na35a11e99c2742010a246f0d&lnm=81938&afid=Apartment%20Therapy%20LLc&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002
October 15, 2019 @ 2:49 am
You are a miracle worker- the kittens look in amazingly good health now as well as happy, socialised & affectionate. Parting from them will be so hard! Thank you so much for being such an advocate of TNR, I live in the UK & we have the problems with ferals as you. And thank you too for introducing me to so many interesting books!
October 15, 2019 @ 4:45 am
Lots of Amazon boxes – I tend to avoid them here in the UK because they treat their staff like crap and don’t pay their taxes. I believe they do the same in the US? I’m glad I’ve found you – we seem to be sisters – and I’ll be following. Having recently moved less stuff is SO liberating … I hope I can keep it up. Also we’re on a year long mission to not buy anything new. so far so good.
June 28, 2021 @ 10:02 pm
All your projects are very impressive. Looking forward to see what is next.