The Declutter Anxiety

I don't really have much to say ... just busy decluttering the house. It will never end. I think I have a hard time with some categories of clutter because I was raised to be very emotionally attached to things. Not that the actual memory doesn't matter, but that you need the thing to remind you of the memory. I'm not sure that makes sense.

Anyway, I've kept EVERY card and letter I've ever received. I even have love letters from my first boyfriend, Travis. I asked Kevin once if that bothered him and he said it didn't. I haven't read 99% of what I've kept, but I have about 5 large shoe boxes full of stuff like this. It takes up a ton of space.

I'm considering getting rid of ALL of it. I think I might even do it without looking through the boxes. I can't decide, though. If I start going through it piece by piece, I feel like it will be some huge emotional roller coaster ... all sorts of memories.

I have gotten over most of the fears I've had about decluttering ... the 'what if I need it later' kinds of feelings, for example. This one was easy. If I could look it up online, replace it fairly easily, or if it was cheap to begin with ... out it went. But, it's the emotional attachment to things I'm having a hard time with.

So, letters ... pictures ... trinkets ... very hard time. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it?

Another thing I'm working on is family goals. I told Kevin to think of six things he wanted to do in 2009 and I'd think of six things. Then, we'd try to accomplish them this year. I have five on my list so far. We're gearing up for our financial meeting soon and this is something we'll discuss then. I'm also drafting a Family Mission Statement. Basically, I'm attempting to run the house more like a business with schedules and goals instead of just floating through the day with no direction. So, I'll write more about this after our meeting takes place.

All in all, I'm pretty excited about this year. I just feel like I have to get the house in order physically so that I can get a better mental grasp on what's going on. It also just feels like a never ending project. I really need to practice positive thinking more ... think happy thoughts, Nata-Leigh!