For those of us who admit we’re pack rats usually live in the dream world of the Pack Rat. I’ll Use That One day!
I hate to get rid of our stuff because we’ll need that down the road. The main problem for us pack rats is that we know we’re going to do something with all the stuff he or she accumulates. Being a good organizer does not necessarily mean you have to get rid of everything you have, but it does mean keeping things in an organized and orderly fashion so that when the time does come to use it, you’ll be able to find it. For those of us in denial or so-called “Organized” pack rats usually find space to store our stuff in one place, ah like a monthly storage bill.
A “disorganized” pack rat can become overwhelmed by ‘stuff’ and their family life and mental health can suffer as a result. Between me and you organized or disorganized pack rat? Really? Ideally, a pack rat should strive to keep those things that are truly important, discard the wreckage, and maybe if you dare, have a yard sale once in a while. Sometimes rehab is worse than the injury. It’s very difficult for a pack rat to break the habit of hoarding and keeping things. If you have a family member who is a pack rat, offer to help them weed through their belongings and get a handle on the situation. If you are the pack rat, it’s time you asked yourself some honest questions.
Make the process of weeding through things as pleasant as possible. Most likely you’ll be able to have a huge yard sale, or some community organization will benefit greatly from the donation of your unneeded items. I’m sure that “Somebody”, is more than ready to help! Take a picture before you start. The before picture as it were. So you’ll know how much you’ve accomplished when the pain is over. After you’ve purged your excess stuff, work on developing a long-term organizational goal that will send up a red flag to warn you if you are beginning down that road again. Take a picture of your house after the purge, and look at the before and the after pictures every time you think you’re starting to slip back into pack rat mode.
Remember how hard you worked to get rid of the excess and the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Keep on top of the clutter so the clutter doesn’t overwhelm you in the end again.
Turn yourself into that “Somebody”!
