so on the subject of stuff, clutter, belongings, knick knacks, what nots, doo dads.... 

its probably my most favorite subject and i can drone on and on over it. it absolutely fascinates me.  we all have belongings and we all have a hard time letting some stuff go.  it could be because something is still seen as useful or it has sentimental value.  it could be something as mundane as a walmart plastic bag but to the right person it has got that something-something making them hold on to it.

i read a ton of books about clutter, organizing, hoarding.  ones that are written for someone who is just a lazy slob and then others that are book forms of a therapy session.  i used to think that there was one definitive book out there that held all the right answers, but that is not the case.  you have to read them all.  pick out what speaks to you.  sometimes it depends on where you are in life as to which book to read.  feeling inspired and upbeat and want to tackle some clutter?  read a thin book with quick tips and bubbly cheers.  or maybe you are going through a rough time in life and decluttering is a key part in moving forward, such as a death or the end of a relationship.  then reading something that caters more to emotional and sentimental matters would be a good choice.

i've read all the books i can get my hands on through my public library and now i am taking on the entire states resources through interlibrary loan.  see, i don't own them all, that would be clutter!

i have to constantly read these books for my own benefit, because i am a hard core junk lover.  i live for thrift stores and estate sales.  you don't have to be looking for anything, it will find you. example: i never realized that i 'needed' an electric lighted make up mirror, but yeah, let's give it a go, only 3 bucks!  

now, ok, this is my issue.  i have this conflicting deal where i hate clutter but love finding neat stuff or finding stuff to fix up.  i have this constant back and forth in my brain pitching pros and cons.  it all comes down to finding balance and getting some limits in place that you can work with.  your house has a limit of how much stuff it can aesthetically hold/display.  your life has a limit of how many projects you can accomplish before it's end.  one of my most favorite shows (obviously!) is Hoarders.  i remember this one episode where the woman had an entire room filled with skeins of yarn, she was in her late 60s, maybe 70s.  the team asked her how long it takes to knit a blanket and calculated that with how much yarn she had it would have taken her nearly 20 years to use up her stash, meaning it wasn't going to happen.  she could live another 20 years but just knitting?  you gotta do more in life than that.

like i mentioned, i can go on and on about clutter and i plan to!  topics that I touched on here:  thrift stores and acquiring, learning balance and limits, resources, personal clutter concerns.  i'll flesh these out in more detail in future posts.