Sunday, October 02, 2011

Brave? De-cluttering? The never ending process - almost worse than painting!

I have been de-cluttering for YEARS.... YEARS... honestly YEARS! I had no idea it would take so long, and despite that people (except the very very few who were with me at the very beginning) who see my boat now would never believe I ever started. I have.

I have had another spurt of productivity and made some more space on the boat and recycled several things. I was beginning to feel the boat was beginning to get somewhere until it was suggested that the shed I store things in should be emptied to make way for coal. This is a very good thing on all accounts.

Everything in the shed came from my boat and as I haven't seen any of it for ages I decided non of it would come back onto the boat. You just KNOW that isn't what happened don't you. I now have to make space for 3 boxes of precious things. To be fair the precious things just need time to be sorted out into the really precious things.

Included in the pile there are photographs from a LONG time ago. Every time I come across them I have ignored them. Those days are gone! I have decided to go through them carefully and select a few to store in an album that I can return to if I ever want to. It is about time I reclaimed some of those moments and I think it will be a therapeutic and enjoyable time. That is what I call productive de-cluttering. (I almost sound convincing don't I!)

The sheer amount of stuff I have accumulated over the years is shocking. However I am comforting myself by assuring myself that I don't accumulate as much as I used to these days and that I AM making progress. This is true, I don't, however, it might take me another life time to sort through all the things I have here in Oxfordshire.

Decluttering is a very therapeutic process but it really is disheartening too. Chin up. Progress is being made! You know, I think I might just hold my heart in my hands and dispose of the things that I have already put aside to come on the boat - what is the worst that can happen?

I am sure it will feel good in the end. It usually does.

5 Comments:

Blogger BigJohn said...

Scan your photos. I've done nearly 2000 now - and they are now on the computer, won't deteriorate, and I can look at them whenever I like.
My HP printer/scanner will scan up to 6 each time - into 6 files.
They are backed up of course, so little chance of losing them.
If you must, store the originals at the ancestral home.
= SPACE!

7:52 PM  
Blogger artymess said...

you are brave ...i have had a dream for a long time to live on a narrowboat ever since I first went out on one for a weeks cruising in 1976 ..but what I would find difficult is the de-cluttering ...I am a hoarder and don't know if I could part with all my art/fabric supplies for a start.....but if you haven''t seen or missed stuff then i guess you don't need it....good luck ...

8:10 PM  
Blogger MortimerBones said...

BJ - storing at the ancestoral just means postponing clearing out. I will be selective about the pictures that most represent that time. There won't be too many. Of course, all the ones I take now are stored everywhere and I must make the digital copies easier to find, but that is for another day.

artymess - it is a reasonably therapeutic process....

11:47 AM  
Blogger A Rival Wild Pyramid said...

Can't persuade Boots to have a chew on some stuff to ease the decision-making process?

11:14 PM  
Blogger John Witts said...

Brave? Brave indeed!! So much courage in letting go.....

9:01 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home