Confession: I'm a packrat. I keep some things that probably don't need to be kept. (I always think, "I don't need this NOW, but I might need/want it someday!") I like knickknacks. I'll admit it. I mean, not when the knickknacks that decorate a house are overwhelming.* Just the kind strategically placed on the edge of a shelf or on a computer monitor. Whenever I think about the knickknacks I have that are useless, I tend to think of this:
Yes, you're seeing this correctly. This is a toy I got in a kids meal, either my first or second year of college. I mean, who doesn't want a miniature Plucky Duck sitting on a giant inner tube? He looks so relaxed, doesn't he? I like being relaxed. Back then I put him on the top of my computer monitor to remind me of being relaxed.Whenever I think of de-junking my stuff in general, I almost always think of Plucky. For some reason, this symbolizes all my useless stuff to me, even though most of my useless stuff isn't quite as useless and/or silly as this. But I haven't had Plucky out and displayed in years. YEARS! Why am I still carting him around? He's spent years and several moves in some box labeled "SORT." Honestly, I have no idea why, except that I feel a little bit sentimental about him.
As I'm preparing for my 13th move in the past 8 years, I'm trying to get rid of more stuff to make my load lighter. My packrattedness actually gets better every move. (Mostly because I see things and think: "Do I love this enough to carry it up three flights of stairs?") I've actually gotten rid of a lot of stuff over time. I particularly like remembering about this time that my friend/then-roommate Shaleen (who is a master de-junker) helped me. When I brought things to her and explained why I didn't need it, but didn't think I could get rid of it, she'd say, "Here, let me take that." Ha! Anyway, but I still have a bunch of useless stuff.
So this time as I'm preparing to pack (and actually trying to give myself more than a couple days or less), I'm asking myself three questions: (1) Have I used this in the last 2 years? (2) If this is useful, would I remember I have it/be able to find it if I ever needed it? (3) Is there any actual legitimate reason as to why I would keep this? If the answer to all three is no, then I'm thinking long and hard about getting rid of it. (Such non-committedness still gives me final say as I evaluate things on a case-by-case basis.)
Anyway, enough of that. Time to get back to sorting.
* Always reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons where Moe turns his bar into a family restaurant: "If you like good fun, good food, and a whole lot of crazy crap on the wall..."
3 comments:
ahh, after reading about plucky duck I felt a tug at my heart as I contemplated you getting rid of him. :) I have the same problem. I have so many knick knacks in boxes that I can't bear to get rid of, but often think to myself, "When I get married is my husband really going to want this in his house?" The other problem is that all the knick knacks are so random and don't go together that really it is funny to even try to decorate with them. Yet I carry them around with me wherever I go. "How do I let go of my childhood?"
Oh, Plucky. Maybe it's time to bring him out of the box and put him back on the computer instead of getting rid of him? Hmm, as a fellow packrat, I'm probably not the best person to give advice.
I say get rid of him! I have this problem too, but I've gotten really good at getting rid of stuff. It's mostly because of how much I hate moving. Hate hate hate. And the less stuff I have to move, the happier I am.
I also have the tendency to wait until after the move to take a DI trip. But this most recent move I made sure to not make that mistake again. And I never looked back! The silly little things that you think you will miss, will never be thought of again. And if you do miss it enough, you can go back and get another kids meal with another toy to place silly meaning on. :)
Also, take pictures of the things before you get rid of them. Sometimes just the picture memory is enough.
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