This weekend me and my housemate decided to swap
rooms ready for the next academic year. This meant that everything had to be
tidied, possibly even packed up for a day or two before it finds its place in
the new room.
As most people would, I have started off really
excited thinking I will get rid of unnecessary things (and I have A LOT of
those) to make sure my new room is as clutter-free as possible. This mentality
didn't last very long. Yes, I got rid of a few old t-shirts that I haven't worn
in ages and decided to upgrade my mirror but other than that I ended up with 3
drawers of random clutter than doesn't really have much of a purpose and
doesn't belong anywhere. I'm sure many people can relate to this, whether it's
the messy kitchen drawer or a whole spare room full of things that "might
come in handy".
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to live in a
plain white room and be able to store ALL my belongings in a back pack but a
chaotic environment definitely makes me feel like I'm not in control of my
life. But how do you break the habit of hoarding?
I think that there are three main reasons as to why
people hold on to objects (but I'm not a psychologist, these are just my
thoughts)
- We feel
emotionally attached to things ("sentimental value").
- We feel
we should keep them because someone bought them for us.
- "In
case they come in handy".
I think often we don't want to upset people. If the object was a gift,
it may not have much of a use in our house but we worry that it means more to
the person who gave it to us, so it's easier to just keep it. We also don't
want to seem ungrateful because I'm sure most of us appreciate both the gift
and the thought, but how long do you keep a present for if you don't end up
using it? In these situations balance is key. It would be
wasteful to throw away, for example a spare light bulb but at the same
time is there point in keeping a birthday card from 3 years ago? I mean, is
there any sort of social etiquette that I am not aware of when it comes to
hoarding, especially hoarding gifts? If anyone has an answer to this I would
really appreciate it. Maybe it would help me decide what to keep and what to
pass on to the charity shops.
Clothes are the next big thing I think people hoard. The
jeans we wish we still fitted into, or that cute top you bought in the sales 2
years ago but haven't even worn yet. Even though I still have some things I
keep "just in case" I feel that after a few years of practise I finally
have my wardrobe under control. I have one double wardrobe and one chest of
drawers of clothes (plus a few spare bits and bobs at my mum's house in case I
come home and have forgotten something) and, compared to some people I know, I
feel like it's not that much. I try to have clear outs every couple of months
and I ATTEMPT to follow some rules. I ask myself if the item in question still
fits me? Do I like wearing it? Does it still look decent? Have I worn it in the
last couple of months? The last question can be subjective, especially when it
comes to clothes for special occasions or seasonal items, and this is where the
slippery slope begins as it can be a good excuse to hold on to things for that
little while longer.
I wish I had a solution to the issue that hoarding
is but unfortunately, for now, this is just a post where I had a good rant
about it and that’s it. If I ever do come up with a solution, or find out how
long you should keep things before you can get rid of them, I will let you know.
No comments:
Post a Comment