Out: 314, high street: still zero!
More fun and games in the loft, pulling out boxes of put away clothes and making decisions what to keep, what not. Looking at the piles and PILES of actually really quite unattractive rummage-sale fodder that's spread all over, I begin to realise that this is not that far from sorting through someone elses clothes: HELLO?! to which unchic, ambassador of non-style does this lot belong?
In jealously hoarding everything, including moving ridiculous quantitites of stuff in 3 house moves since the early 1990s, I have neglected to appreciate that the person who bought (and loved, lets be honest - and could fit into, lets be even more honest) those long Gap jean-shorts (no, not cool Crusoe ones, nor nice rolled-up-at-the-knee worn with long boots ones) just doesn't exist any more. I loved them, and wore them often - in 1991. Its 2011. Not only has my body changed (i am 44 now, i was 25 then), but i no longer like high-waisted, loose on the thigh, tapered leg jeans, or jean-shorts, of this nature, in khaki denim. It should be a no-brainer, not take 20 years to get to grips with. Anyway, shorts were out. both pairs. I am not sure that i ever really fitted into the black size 8 ones even when i was relatively skinny. Maybe i kept them (mostly unworn for 20 years??!?) because there is an aspirational me that always planned on being that small? Plus they're Gap, and Gap's nice, isn't it? {;)} And they belong to a time when I was living and working in London as a young carefree, long shorts wearing twenty-something........
It really does just boil down to applying this 'No TYVM, now obsolete item' logic to a procession of unlovely unwanteds, and seeing the Oxfam-labelled bin bags grow. Now filled 9, and we're talking proper quality, large bin bags, not your goes-into-holes-if-you-so-much-as-look-at-it B&M black cling film rubbish.
My plan is to reach No 365 at the end of this evening -we're tackling shoes. And I will only count a pair as one, not two, things. Then I'm going to stop, at least for a while. Firstly, my resolution (to find one piece of clothing to give away for each day of the year) will be acheived. Secondly, having just gone through everything - really, honestly, everything - with a fine-toothed comb and done a lot of decision making, not sure i'm ready, or that it would be profitable, to go though the whole lot again straight away. Leave it for 6 months and I'll be ready to start again. Perhaps achieving a give-away of 500 by the end of 2011. What feels good is that even if Oxfam only gain an average of £2 per item, that's a donation of £1000 that's just been crammed into the loft for years. How. Utterly. Shaming.
But lets NOT look at the maths of what I've spent over the years on stuff that i haven't had good wear out of. I'm beginning to see that that's a key part of hoarding - the initial financial investment plus the emotional investment of keeping it (and in my case, moving house 3 times) ramps up the extent to which you think you SHOULD keep it. That might be a warped form of thrift - a version of 'can't afford to give away'. I can, and have.
Utterly amazing. Congratulations. I don't feel so bad about chucking stuff now, and my motto will now always be "Will I actually want this in 20 years' time?". Ha! Do your parents hoard stuff? Mum always used to make me have a clear-out every so often, but El's mum has a proper house full and I have a fraction of the stuff he has already. This doesn't bode well... :O
ReplyDeleteLol Vicky! Yes my Mum's a veteran hoarder, so's my brother - Dad is the opposite. Perhaps it is a learnt behaviour. But hoarding really freaks your uncle Rory out which is partially why I'm trying to address it, the other reason being that it was beginning to make me feel as if i was a bit mad, but not in a good way, and also through it was high time for a little creative and gentle re-invention of self.
ReplyDeleteIt's been alright, actually, MUCH easier than I first thought - it hasn't hurt in the least to get rid of stuff that i feel less-than-passionate about, and that's been a surprise - now it feels weird that it's been a surprise, if you see what i mean.
I think previous attempts have been stalled by the the question 'Will I be alright without this? Not sure, so better keep it just in case' even though you can't for the life of you think of any concrete example of what keeping it will achieve.
'How much would i miss this?' has been a useful question. where the answer was 'a lot, even though it doesn't fit' I've tended to keep it. Perhaps I'll feel braver when it comes to going through the process again at the end of summer. Mostly though the answer was 'Not at all' or 'Not enough to warrant keeping it'.
But lets see though, need to see how i get on with shoes before i get too pleased with myself!!
Hoarder!!!!!! I think we call it 'Collector'!!!!
ReplyDeleteX Tim
Hmmmm, actually Tim, you are right. there is a big difference between hoarding and collecting. Hoarding is when there is no ryhme or reason to the act of keeping, other than fear of letting go. Stuff that you don't even really like etc. I can see that what you do is collecting - does that go for all the stuff you've got though? lol xxxxxx
ReplyDelete