While S. and I were taking our walk today, he mentioned still having his Nintendo 64 and all his games. "When was the last time you actually used that?" I asked. Before he even replied, he knew my next question before it even came out of my mouth - "So why do you still have it?"
We've had this discussion before - if you stand still too long in my house, I will donate you, give you away or put you in the trash. I brought up the discussion I have with Karl twice every year about the clothes in his closet that hang there, not worn in years or never worn at all. When I announce I'm cleaning closets he proclaims "Don't touch my clothes!" I don't quite understand this. There is no real sentimental value to any of these items, his answer is "I might wear them." Well, he hasn't in over 5 years!? S. wondered why I am so adamant about getting rid of them. Why can't I accept it at that, he doesn't want to get rid of them, and who cares the reason? Well, he has a point if we're talking about something of sentimental/monetary/in case of emergency value, I can be flexible (really, I can). But shirts that still have the pins in them?!
You can always tell when I've been cleaning the house - I do a major cleaning about every third weekend, and there's always a heaping load of trash for the garbage man the following Monday. Just about every time his brother comes over (he's a bachelor), I'm giving him something we don't use. Karl likes to tease me about all this, always wondering what it is I've gotten rid of this time. S. likes to rile me up about it. I think he's just glad he doesn't have someone like me in his life, and feels sympathy for my poor, poor husband.
So what do you think? Are you someone who likes to hold on to things, or do you hate the clutter? Am I too extreme to go through the house and get rid of things we don't use so much? Is this a gender thing, or are some of you men like this too?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
It's Gotta Go!
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12 comments:
I understand where you're coming from. But me, I have to wait a really long time to get rid of un-worn clothes. I have a couple of shirts in my closet that I've not worn in some time, but I'll keep them until I buy a shirt (or whatever) that I like much more than what's already hanging in the closet. The only reason I get rid of stuff is to make room for new stuff. If I've got room to keep it, I probably will. I should note that I do donate a lot of clothes and stuff to charity (I don't just horde stuff for the sake of hording). And I don't have stuff with tags still on it, I've worn it all at some point in time.
I'm somewhere in between. I go through my cleaning spurts where I'll get rid of stuff when I decide to clean. I can guarantee you once my house sells I'll be donating a lot and there will be a big pile of trash.
I would guess that your desire to clean things out comes from being in a military family growing up where moves were plentiful and you always had to be ready for the next transfer.
I'll let Amy comment on her own storage philosophies...
Ummm... I'm kinda like Karl in that sense. I probably should and could get rid of a bunch of clothes that I won't wear (this year's tax receipts.) I think that some guys will hold onto clothes that they wore at different weights and all those things given to them during birthdays and Christmas. I'd hate to give away something someone put thought into giving me because I just wanted a few millimeters of closet space. The stuff with pins still in them... those need to come out or go out.
Nik: I do have some clothes I hang on to for whatever reason until I replace them with something else too.
Ken: I did get this OCD cleaning behavior from my Mom - she's way worse than me too. It's kinda scary. LOL Being military and moving did accelerate it, you make a great point there.
jj: That's so funny, my friend S. said the same thing. His mother went through the depression and he gets it from her.
Martin: Yeah, I see your logic is much like Karl's - but thanks for backing me up on the shirts with the pins still in them. :)
I am a total pack rat. I wish I was more like you though. :-)
I go through a purge about every year or so. I guess I'm kind of a packrat.
I am like you, I can throw just about anything away. Lloyd on the other hand is like Karl. He hates it when I go through my clothes to donate, let alone touch any of his things. The only difference between you and I is that I do not do it as often as I would like.
I am like you when it comes to clutter and stuff! Did the look of your blog change or am I having another memory failure issue?
Heather: I sometimes wish I could just let.it.go. sometimes!
Matt: Nah, spring cleaning once a year does does not a pack rat make. :) True packrats never get rid of anything. I've seen horrifying documentaries about it. These shows make me twitch.
Teri: High-five! We are kindred spirits, put here on this Earth to torture our husbands. Hey... I've seen your house, you can't fool me. You're cleaner than me. Even without a toddler I think.
Barbara: Yup, I needed a change. I was tired of the orange.
Lovin the new look-- good to see there are a few on board. lol
Oh I am so the same way! Just the other day I was clenaing out the closet and started making a "throw away" pile of my husbands old ratty shirts he never wears any more and you would have thought I was trying to throw out his most prized possessions! I made him try each on to show him why he no longer needed them and when they either didn't fit or hung off him in tatters they went in the bin and I was triumphant!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love how you write and have added you to my links of favorites! And it's nice to have a fellow Las Vegan around.
I get rid of things too quick. As soon as I throw it out, I'm looking for it the next day.
Love the pics from the earlier post. So good to see you.
Have a great weekend.
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