Survey #251—Full Response from Laurie
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| Describe a category of stuff, an area of your home, or an organizing or decluttering project or task that you’ve found particularly challenging. | The garage and basement. It contains tools and supplies/materials that I inherited from my dad (my husband and I bought the house from my dad's estate and moved in with the basement and garage still intact from when my dad lived there). Also, it includes tools and materials from repair/remodeling that my husband and I have purchased for prior work on our house and four rental properties. And finally, tools and materials that my husband has purchased to be able to make a workshop for projects he would like to do. So, we have my dad's stuff, our stuff and my husband's stuff. Last year, we managed to go through things that I thought we didn't need, or I didn't know what they were by me loading them into totes and bringing them up to the family room where my husband could tell me, donate, trash or keep. This worked out well, but there are still too many items for the space we have. My husband says that clutter doesn't bother him, but when the area he's been working in gets cluttered to the point he can't move around easily, he moves into a space that is less cluttered to do his work (like the laundry room which I try to keep clear and clean). I've told my husband to let me know what he is unable to use, and we can donate it. He says he feels like he doesn't have the right to get rid of my dad's things. I don't know the difference between my dad's things and our things so I told him that he would have to tell me. He doesn't want to spend the time going through stuff. |
| What advice might you give your younger self to help reduce or avoid the challenge you described in the previous question? | I'm not sure because my dad's tools and workshop were sentimental to me when my husband and I moved into the house (2010) a year after my dad's death (2009). We held onto tools and material assuming we would use them again, and we have for the most part, at least the tools that we have purchased. My husband and I are in our sixties and the remodeling has slowed way down, our house is functional, and our rentals only need work here and there, the rentals are in good condition, and we have great renters! |
| Describe a category of stuff, an area of your home, or an organizing or decluttering project or task that you’ve found satisfying or enjoyable to work on. | What I found most satisfying about being able to let go of the most amount of my items in my home is when I had my items appraised in March of 2019 by Dr. Lori and she let me know what my items (inherited and purchased by me and my husband) were worth. Most of my items were worth under $50 so they were easy to donate unless I liked them. If I liked them then I needed to display them or use them, otherwise they had to go! |
| What feelings or emotions do you associate with your answer to the first question (The Challenge)? What feelings or emotions do you associate with your answer to the third question (The Good Stuff)? | First question, the challenge: I feel sadness, loss of my dad, overwhelm for the number of tools/materials we are storing for "just for when" the next project will arise and frustration for my husband not being clear about what he wants in his workshop and the inability to help. Third question, the good stuff: relief of being able to donate items that had little monetary value and that I had no reason to keep. |
| Future topics | Working with a spouse that says that clutter doesn't bother them in shared spaces. |
Be the first to comment!
Comment on this survey response
Please use the form below to share a comment on this survey response. We ask that you keep your comments courteous and respectful. Polite disagreement is fine, but abusive language won’t be tolerated. Your comment will be held briefly for moderation after submission.
"*" indicates required fields
Please note that your information is saved on our server as you enter it.
