#78: Get rid of at least 10 more items of clothing.

Completed 9.17.10

Okay, so, for my whole life I've basically been a pack rat. I think this runs in the family. My grandma on my mother's side was pretty much a hoarder, but a really neat hoarder. Her basement was always full of shelves full of neatly organized, useless things. Piles of paper, boxes of baby food jars, things like that. She was creative and found interesting ways to use otherwise useless things, so she thought there was a use for everything. And would often give people things that she thought they could use. Like when she gave me a couple hundred envelopes which were all sealed shut.

My mom and I both have a bit of that trait, but not to such an extreme. I also attach emotions and memories to objects, so it's hard for me to get rid of things for that reason. Add to this, I've always been a messy person, and it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I actually kept my rooms clean enough to be able to walk around them. Growing up, the floors in my bedrooms were always covered, with only a walkway from the door to the bed.

So, getting rid of anything, especially clothes, has never been a strength of mine. I always think that I will wear it, some day. Things really turned around for me when I started watching A&E's show, Hoarders. Watching that show made me so scared of turning out like those people, with junk and garbage piled throughout their entire house. That's basically what my room looked like growing up, so I fear that I'm capable of it. Once I started watching that show, I was motivated to go through my belongings with a much more critical eye. Plus, during the commercial breaks, I would often get up and clean. I donated a couple bags of stuff, mostly clothes, when I moved to Escanaba. And then when we moved from Esky to Ypsi, packing was a chance to donate of bunch of stuff I didn't want to take with me. I donated 15 items of clothing, plus a couple boxes of random odds'n'ends. Hurray! And in the process of unpacking, I've filled up another box of things to donate. Now I just gotta get around to getting it out of the house. :]