Moving

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am moving in a couple of weeks.  I don’t mind the moving so much, but the one thing about moving that I absolutely hate is packing.  I can handle the unpacking and setting up of my new home, but I hate packing it back up again.  It seems like, as I make myself “at home,” my “stuff” multiplies.

It’s amazing to me how much junk I collect.  It’s not that I keep everything, but sometimes I have to wonder about the stuff I do keep.  For instance, what purpose does a grocery receipt from six months ago serve?  It’s not as if I didn’t know it came out of my account.  Or, why do I keep the old school and/or community newsletters?  It’s old news, and most of it was useless then – let alone now!

Or how about those items that have served their “normal” purpose, but I hold on to “just in case I need them later”?  The funny thing about those, is that I’m not a particularly “crafty” person.  Yet, I aspire to be.  I am so sure that I am going to be “crafty” in the future, so I hang on to those items that would be “so cool” to use for such-and-such a project.  Yet, I know in my head that I am probably never going to do it.

I am learning that keeping a lot of “stuff” isn’t really being frugal.  In reality, it’s being foolish.  It’s foolish to hold on to things for the sake of holding on to them.  I am not opposed to keeping items for the sake of the memories, but to keep items that don’t hold any sort of sentimental value just seems silly.

What about you?  Do you have a tendency to hold on to things?  Or do you keep only the essentials?  What “rule of thumb” do you use to decide what to keep and what to throw away?

I look forward to seeing your responses!!

Until Next Time,