Mountains O' Things

I promise I am not a packrat. I prefer to think of myself as a practical, frugal woman who follows in her ancestors' footsteps.

The truth of the matter is that I come from a long line of Pennsylvania Germans who farmed the land for generations and survived tough times thanks to making do with what they had. The ultimate conservationists, nothing was thrown away until every possible use was wrung out of an item.

Pappy Marbarger kept everything--old toilets, bits of string--because "you never know when you'll need these things." The farmhouse is full of strange inventions that, surprisingly, work quite well, repurposed from whatever old scraps were found hidden in the attic or basement, tucked away for just such a need. But the crawl spaces and extra rooms are filled to the brim with stuff.

Despite having lived in six states and more than 15 apartments over the last decade, I continue to pack up all my old belongings and move it with me each time like a bloated snail moving slowly under all the weight I'm carrying. I've never thrown anything out, mostly because, well, I was broke. And you never know when you'll need something that you can't afford to purchase.

Perhaps there are deeper reasons why we hang on to our old clutter: inability to let go of something in our past, fear or anxiety about our future. I struggle with both of these issues daily, issues that are most likely also fueling my perceived need to hang on to items I really don't want or need. Everett Bogue wrote a fabulous blog entry about how to destroy your past lives and start over: http://www.farbeyondthestars.com/how-to-destroy-your-past-lives-starting-over/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FarBeyondTheStars+(Far+Beyond+The+Stars)&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Finally, after stumbling over all the stuff in the back room of our small apartment, not even able to find a walking path, we decided it was time. Time to pare down. I was ready to defy my ancestry, to embrace an existence with fewer chains to my past and to my fears.

I wish I could say that the real reason behind all this was due to two awesome blogs I follow: www.farbeyondthestars.com (by Everett Bogue, as mentioned above) and www.rowdykittens.com (by Tammy Strobel), both of which discuss ways to simplify and declutter, and thus live a more fulfilling, non-materialistic life. While these two blogs were instrumental in allowing me to finally let go of all the unnecessary stuff, the true impetus was Jeff. Specifically, Jeff's growing business that requires precious storage space; also, Jeff's sanity.

We started on a Tuesday. Each day in between jobs, Jeff pawed through his mountain of old magazines and books, papers and pens. I tackled my clutter--old shoes, t-shirts I've had since middle school--after work each day. Saturday night came around. We had planned to walk around Portland, ME and then hit a contra dance in Falmouth. No dice. Cleaning was priority at this point. It looked like a tornado of old junk hit our place, piles halfway to the ceiling of boxes topped with bags. We had hit the final leg of our journey to a decluttered room, our first step towards a decluttered life. Finally, we finished around 10 p.m. after an exhausting week of organizing, cleaning, donating, recycling, throwing out.

What was the final tally?

-Four carloads of old clothes, kitchenware, appliances, shoes, lamps and books donated to Goodwill

-One gigantic box full of novels and DVDs donated to the Dover Public Library

-Three very large bins full of recycled materials--including my old, not-even-functioning-for-years laptop and numerous floppy disks and zip disks!! Why did I hang on to that stuff?!

-A 20-minute backyard fire to incinerate papers that had account numbers on them (seriously, I had BAGS of papers like this sitting in the corner for a year)

-A 19" tube tv and a decent three CD/two cassette (!!!) tape stereo that I haven't used in at least a year or two, given to work acquaintances

-A nice set of winter jacket/pants/rain jacket donated to the homeless guy that hangs out on our street and sleeps in the woods nearby

-Two boxes of clothes and books for my mom and aunt who might be interested; if not, off to Goodwill with these items too


-We traded in the Jeep for a Subaru Outback that week, too--better gas mileage, lower car payments, much better storage options. It's honestly a simpler, better choice for us right now, and while it's not technically considered getting rid of clutter, it's helping us move towards a more streamlined existence.

I willingly admit that I still have more stuff to sort through and downsize: stacks of scrap material for sewing; piles of colored paper for various crafts; containers of curtains not currently being used; boxes of photos I haven't looked at in years. But this was a huge first step for me, one that was long overdue. Once I caught up on sleep and relaxation, it felt liberating to be free of some of the junk. The act of clearing out the clutter makes me think about what else I can do to downsize. I want to do more. I like this feeling. I don't have a strong desire to replace all the clutter with new items. I like having less.

Full disclosure: I did acquire one item during this time period of paring down--a tiny 55-lb. anvil! Right now, it serves as a great conversation piece in our apartment, but it will be right at home when we finally get our own place and set up a small blacksmith shop. And honestly, how often does an anvil come freely across the doorstep of someone who loves the metal arts? This was a tiny step backwards in the journey of paring down, but I'd gladly give away a box full of anything else to keep my new anvil. Priorities, people. Priorities.


My next goal (potentially; do I have the guts to do it?): wear only 33 items for the rest of the year. Check it out: http://www.peaceandprojects.com/blog/2010/10/wearing-only-33-items-for-85-days/

Or check out the original inspiration for this, the Minimalist Fashion Project 333 (33 items worn in 3 months): http://www.bemorewithless.com/2010/minimalist-fashion-project-333-begins/

My list is currently at 55; I have more wardrobe whittling to do.

Have your own story about clearing out the clutter? Were you inspired by someone to simplify and get rid of material items to improve your quality of living? Feel free to let me know how you were motivated!