Purge, Purge, Purge... Oh Boy!

I started taking a class yesterday - one that I desperately need. 4 sessions over 6 weeks, with a 2 week break in the middle. The class is Work Smarter, Not Harder taught by my good friend Cathi Hight.

The first assignment is to organize my work space. Oh boy!

I'm moving furniture around, sorting through papers, tossing junk mail, deciding what to file, and what to shred. It's really pretty liberating. It feels good to get rid of unneeded junk and clutter. But it's hard to do, for a pack rat like me.

Why do we keep stuff we don't really need or want?

It gives me a sense of security, a sense of ownership. Even if it's junk, it's still mine. And if it's something I paid for, it must have some value. And if I need something, chances are it's in one of my piles or boxes - somewhere.

Sometimes I think that I may not need it now, but I might need it later. There have been times when I've regretted getting rid of something. This usually happens with clothing. I bought a pair of jeans that were a little too tight for me. I held onto them for a year or two, then finally decided that they'd never fit and gave them away. Of course, when I dropped a few pounds and went looking for them, they were nowhere to be found. Bummer. They were really cute jeans.

I hold onto things because I don't want to deal with them now. This is particularly true with mail. I hate sorting through the mail. I get so much junk mail, so many credit card offers I'm not interested in, mortgage refinance deals, and requests for donations to all sorts of charities. Mixed into it all are the bills I'm so happy to get each month. Occasionally, I actually get something I want.

It's always hard for me to get rid of things people have given to me. I feel guilty if I give them away. What if they come to my house or office and go looking for it? This is particularly true for my mother. It's hard for me to tell her that the orange fuzzy sweater just isn't my style, or the AA-battery-powered keyboard vac just won't do the job. She tries so hard, and I don't want to seem ungrateful.

I don't do garage sales. When I purge I throw the stuff away or give it to the local thrift store. I don't really have the time or energy it takes to put together a successful garage sale. And I'm afraid it will give me a chance to rethink my decision to get rid of something. I'll end up keeping more stuff than I sell. And what if no on wants my junk? How humiliating! At least at the thrift store, I'll never really know if anyone bought it or what they paid for it.

What I've discovered over the last couple of days (besides a lot of stuff I wanted but couldn't find and stuff I thought I'd wanted but really didn't) is that all the stuff weighs on you. It's confining, suffocating, smothering. It's stressful to see the piles. Purging may be scary, but it's freeing. Most of it can be replaced, usually with something better, if I really want it later. The things that are irreplacable go into a fireproof, waterproof safe. Anything else will be neatly organized and put in its proper place.

Rrriiiiiiiigghhtt.