Decluttering

I started decluttering when I needed to make enough money for Charlie’s surgery. Charlie is my 12 year old, slightly pudgy, tabby cat. And I had no money for the surgery since I am disabled and on a rather low fixed income and my bf got laid off ‘due to the pandemic’ a while back. And he worked in an oilfield related industry so ‘due to the economy’ has no hope in hell in getting a job in that field again any time soon. So my solution?? Sell stuff I do not use.

And this plan Worked. I got the surgery done and Charlie is feeling a lot better and eating better, which means I can put him on that diet the vet recommended. I love that little dude. I would sell anything I own to save him pain. And damn it I would do it again.

I noticed that decluttering was a good idea even after I saved for the surgery because maybe I could now pay down some debts incurred while the waiting for my disability to be approved and those times when work wouldn’t pay for a short-term leave I needed and when I was fighting a year to Get On Short term before long-term and CPP-D.. so debts…. and again, very low fixed income. So why not sell stuff to help pay that down, eh?

I find I like this decluttering of things I never use anymore that other people could definitely make use of.

They are just THINGS. Things laying around not serving their purpose. And others would Use them for their purpose. So why not? And it thins the stuff out of the house.

I’m not a materialistic person. In fact, I am a simplistic person. Books, basic art supplies, a computer and I am good to go in life. I just want to be able to read, draw, and write. Every other thing is minor to me. My main nostalgic trait is pictures on my walls. From places I have been to loved ones. I like to display and surround myself with memories. Things are just things. When they do not serve their purpose in my life anymore then I tend to donate them. Or ignore them. Or forget they even exist. So decluttering has made me See them and see their value to Other people who might have a use for them that I clearly do not.

Some things though hit me in the nostalgia

I sold my comic book collection… for way less than it was worth but again I had a timeline for that surgery and only so many people interested in them. Due to the pandemic the comic book stores were actually closed so they were not even an option.

But selling them hit me in the feels.

I do not read them. They were all closed up and sealed and in a box as one does when one collects. Keep them safe and all. It is not like I was Doing anything with them. I just Owned them. And I felt like just owning something for the sake of owning something was just pointless to me. So I sold them.

Now I just put up my Marvel Card collection. For a decent price. I could sell them more individually if I had the time or the patience but I have just do not want to… so lump amount and I just rounded the amount. Again this is something I collected as a teen. I do not look at them or pay attention to them. I just Own them.

But… the nostalgia of these collections? Wow. It is there for sure. It is like I have sold and am selling wee bits of my childhood.

I can see how people can get overly attached to things when you put on them all those memories and sentimentality.

But for me it is just the memories and as fond of those memories I am they are just Things I Own that are not serving me any purpose now. I liked to collect things when I was younger. And I liked the idea of having them. Not so much as I am older. I just see things as space fillers.

Don’t mistake me for a minimalist

I ave clutter, man. My clutter has clutter. I am not an organized person and my office always looks like a paper demon exploded on it. I like clutter. I like my pictures on the walls. My art supplies under the table. The five books I am reading spread out on top of the couch and my mini-bookcase in the living room for my to-red pile. Hoodies on various places just in case I need them. Knickknacks I picked up places I went that I like displayed on a shelves full of DVDs.

Eradicating my clutter and becoming ultra organized is simply not in my nature.

Weeding out things I do not use though, sure, why not?