Pack Rat

Do you have a favorite item that you keep but should probably get rid of? What are you holding onto for “Someday I can use this” or you just don’t have the heart to get rid of it? This is what today’s Ultimate Blog Challenge topic is, being a Pack Rat!

First let me tell you a little about me, I SAVE EVERYTHING from cardboard boxes, the small clear plastic containers that items are shipped in to empty bottles that I think I may have a use for.

When we relocated to South Carolina from upstate New York back in 1994 I brought with us all our tax records, invoices and receipts from the 1980’s to the current year! This past January I participated in a Facebook group challenge to De-Clutter your Mess which was hosted by Andrew Mellon, Speaker, Author, Coach, CEO of Andrew Mellen, Inc. “The Most Organized Man in America.” I started room by room to de-clutter by throwing items away, giving them way, recycling or donating them. One of the first things to do was Rich shredded all the old tax records and we hauled off huge bags filled with shredded records to the recycling center. The next thing to do was break down all the boxes I had been saving (mostly diaper boxes because they have handle grips) in case I needed them to store stuff. Since I was de-cluttering I wouldn’t have stuff to store! So all the broken down boxes also went to the recycling center.

I knew we had LOTS of things that we didn’t need but through out the years things kept accumulating. But that all changed in January 2021 when I realized someday someone would have to get rid of everything when we are no longer here. That someone would be my granddaughter and I knew I had to tackle it at least part way!

I put my mind into the de-cluttering mode and started in the upstairs room that had been our grandchildren’s playroom about 15 years ago, then down to my office which I converted to Lia’s Princess Playroom.

The big job was when we got new cabinets and granite countertops in the kitchen. We took everything out of the the kitchen and while doing that it seems like half the the dishes and cookware ended up being donated or taken to the recycling center. The Kitchen was completed in mid February and our counters are still clutter-free!

I posted blogs on all my de-cluttering challenge and I even came up with 9 Steps to De-Cluttering in case anyone was in the same boat as I was. If you haven’t read it previously, it’s quite interesting how me who saved everything for “someday” could actually get rid of things! I learned from Andrew that there are seven days in a week and Someday wasn’t one of them.

As I was sorting and tossing I would look at something and wonder why I had saved it! Thinking back there wasn’t anything of great sentimental value it was just clutter, They were just things that I didn’t have the heart to get rid of. I guess you could say I was a pack rat! But I said WAS, I no longer save every cardboard box or empty bottle for “someday” instead they go to the recycling center! My de-cluttering project was all because of an challenge and when I see CHALLENGE, I go for it!