Hi everyone!
My name's Lori and I'm THRILLED to join this community. :) I found the site when I was Googling for a declutter group. I have a wonderful husband who supports my tossing/sorting/selling of "stuff". We live in a small apartment (no kids) so it helps with clutter control.
I grew up in a small home with a packrat mom & hoarder dad. Every flat surface was covered with dust-covered trinkets and excessive $1 decorations, overabundant furniture lined the walls and MORE decorations filled the floorspace. When mom ran out of flat surfaces she started hanging things from the ceiling. I had an excessive amount of cheap toys I started selling at yardsales when I was 13 because they were "little kid stuff", haha. The parents didn't complain so I was lucky. I liked making money so I kept decluttering until my room was almost spartan-like. I eventually moved out on my own and then... the $1 stores started popping up everywhere. Ahhh! I bought, bought, bought until I filled my place just like mom filled the house I grew up in. My breaking point came when I shared a house with 2 clutterbug roommates. One of the roommates had an abusive ex-BF who was released from prison that day. A policeman came to our door letting us know the ex-BF was causing trouble within hours of his release & on his way to our house with graphic intentions (I won't mention them). We emptied our cluttered 2000 sqft home in 8 hours flat. All belongings were haphazardly thrown in trash bags, any boxes we could find were stuffed and laundry baskets were brimming. Being in shock at the time I couldn't think straight and cried as I packed in a hurry. To this day I only recall feeling like I was drowning in clutter and that I NEVER would "reach the finish line" packing my things. That night I was hospitalized and sedated. My stuff was put in storage and I stayed at different hotels every night for a month. Her ex-BF went back to prison and is no longer on this earth.
Since then I went through counseling, took plenty of anxiety meds, lost contact with the roommates, met a great guy (now my hubby) and I've been slowly emptying my storage unit. Life is normal. :) Hubby helps me fill the car with stuff to bring home and sort. It's hard because seeing everything brings back memories but I still sort because everything is haphazardly packed and there are *some* valuables. I've donated/sold mostly everything! The unit is almost empty and May is my last month of paying it. I can't believe I spent so much money on useless trinkets AND paid monthly storing them. They were $1/clearance/yardsale purchases but I felt like I was "getting a great deal" and the shopping felt good. Those $1 things turned expensive!! Besides the storage unit I did accumulate clutter in our home. I found along the way that I learned my shopping habits from my mom: bored = shop to have something to do, feel happy = shop, feel stressed = shop to distract me and feel better, feel sad = shop to cheer me up. Most women are emotional eaters, I'm not, I'm an emotional shopper. Once I realized my pattern I quickly made a plan to change.
I've discovered a lot about myself.. mostly that deep down I'm a mimimalist at heart. No item is worth stressing over because they're just things and not valuable like life/experiences. I've learned to be a goal shopper (make list, stick to it, get out) - it gets hard to stay with but I'm doing good, When I do go out I remind myself to not wander aisles "just looking", I'd rather read a book than watch tv, I love a romantic handwritten card from hubby rather than material items, I love fresh flowers and not fake ones which get dusty, I love the open & airy feeling of less furniture, I get excited over seeing the space of a wall from floor to ceiling, I love receiving gift cards or cash as gifts, I love my new spending habits.... there's just so much I'm happy about. :)
Anyway I know this post is loooong and I promise they won't always be. I'm so happy to find a community like this and I really look forward to learning new things and helping others at the same time. Everyone here seems wonderful!
