You’re absolutely right, meme-makers. Nobody needs the negativity that comes so easily from misquoting and taking things out of context. (The actual recommendation is to get rid of things that do not bring you joy, and the ideal that works for her is to keep fewer than 30 books.)
Outside of my gaming style, I would never consider myself a hoarder…. though let’s be honest, does anyone consider themselves that? But I have little doubt I’m as bad as the next person when it comes to clutter.
In my case, one of the big problems is that so much of my clutter is stuff I want to sell–collectible figurines that I chose to get rid of to save space, blind boxed items from Loot Crate that I was never really interested in (but got because I “might have wanted” something else in a particular crate), stuff like that. And of course things that just plain cost me a lot of money when I had a use for it and is collecting dust now. And yes, even some of my books…. particularly hardcover books that may or may not be signed (but not personally signed) that I also have digital copies of.
The result is a lot of clutter that’s built up over the years, as I keep hoping someone will buy it from me on ebay, to the point that I barely have room for the stuff I want to keep.
In order to get rid of the clutter, I have to decide which is more important: getting money from it, or having that space back? What is the best compromise?
Last Christmas, when I once again did not qualify to sell anything listed as a “toy” on Amazon because I’ve never had enough sales to begin with, I went through absolutely everything I had listed, took down anything that was a common toy (e.g. not an “exclusive” or rare item from the likes of Loot Crate), donated anything that I had listed for under a certain dollar amount to the local thrift shop, and (temporarily) migrated the rest to eBay.
This year, I don’t think I’ll wait quite that long. I will not donate items en masse, as I prefer to give potential customers the opportunity to buy my clutter while it’s still possible to ship it out. But in the name of reducing that clutter, every week, I intend to take down one listing and donate the item in question to the thrift shop.
The tricky part is doing so without adding back to that clutter at the same time.
This stack represents three trips to the thrift store.
This plan does not apply to all of my clutter. I’ll hold onto motorcycle accessories, for instance, until they are sold or or offered up as door prizes at one of our meetings, whichever comes first. And I’ll continue to treat books as I’ve been doing–read the print copy, register it with Bookcrossing, drop it off at the nearest outdoor library, and replace it with a digital copy if I liked it enough to add to my permanent collection. Unless of course there is no digital copy available, or there’s something special about that particular print copy (signed, exclusive artwork, etc), in which case I’ll keep it until I have no choice but to reclaim that space. And some of those collectibles will stay for sale until they’re sold.
But even with all of the exceptions, I can find plenty of clutter left to donate.
So how about you, my readers? What’s you’re preferred method for decluttering?
Side Quest Publications 