Organizing a Hoard and Fighting Boredom

Today is a rainy, cold day, but at least there's no snow where I live like in some parts of the country. I thought it would be a good day to work on The Project, but I have this feeling of ennui. I did "stage" some boxes (organizing like items together), nothing major. Maybe tomorrow...

Organizing stuff is tedious and boring, and as I look around the house, my efforts don't seem to have made a major difference. But, in actuality, they have.

The attic is less full and boxes still there are roughly sorted by type. But, the truth is, much of it is junk or household items we no longer need. A lot of it should be tossed. The question is, will we be able to toss or donate it?

Yes, clutter is still an issue; if you walked into my house right now, you would see a slightly messy living room with lots of knickknacks and some dust, but you wouldn't find a typical hoarder house with piles of boxes everywhere and garbage thrown around. You would find my dishes washed and put away, and food inventory managed fairly well, with the occasional science project lurking in the refrigerator. Laundry is always done and put away. Once a year, I check canned and dry goods, tossing all expired food (who wants to eat questionable food, anyway? Eeeww!), and I make my husband toss away expired meds. I also go through clothing and shoes and donate what we no longer use. Because if I don't do these basic tasks, it would be a fast, slippery slope to Hoarderville.

Still, we're surrounded by stuff, which tells me that we may be closer to hoarderdom than I originally thought. My better half and I are pack rats, especially books and papers--parting with books is like sending an adult child out on his or her own. You know you have to do it, but you can only hope that you're giving your unwanted books to someone who will appreciate them.

You can't ignore stuff when you're picking it up, packing it, and moving it around; the physical act kicks in that psychological component, a realization that you may be just a few steps away from those people on reality hoarding shows who DO have piles and piles of junk filling every room.

That scares me.