Some of my most loved and wonderful possessions are the dingiest most worn items of all. My office chair is an awkward cumbersome unlovely thing to look at, but I sigh when I sit in it, as it has the best lumbar support of any chair we've ever found. Sure, I wish it didn't look like it does, but it's because of it's shape that it feels so good, and so I love it. I have a paperweight that has huge sentimental value to me, and it's totally useless as a paperweight. But it's more like an icon or totem. My kids don't want it when I'm gone, they'll probably bury me with it, LOL, but I won't part with it till then, because to me it is just beautiful. Just now I came in from gardening with DH and with these posts in mind I asked him about some plants that are thriving but that I realised I find kind of boring. They were from cuttings from my sil, and were just there to fill in the gaps. I was thinking of not filling our spaces with indifference, and asked DH if he'd mind if I pulled them out and replaced them with cuttings of plants we love. His comment, "Why not... they've never done a thing for me." I know we use that term a lot but I've never thought of applying it to "stuff". I'm going to add that to my indifference slogan.. "do you do anything for me?". Love hearing everyone's thoughts on this.

i have been going thru this for a while too..i used to teach craft classes and do a lot of crafts..but when i lost so much in our house fire i haven't wanted to spend that much time and $ in putting things in this house only to lose them again..and how much will i make for other people..a few baby afgans? i'm also getting to where my hands (polyperepherial neuropathy) are in such bad shape..no feeling in fingers, numbness...that some things are just difficult for me to do any more.. i put a lot of money into beading supplies a few years ago..and now my fingers don't work very well..also embroidery and hand sewing etc.. and then i put a lot of money into patterns to sew myself clothes and then gained back 50 pounds..not really excited about sewing when i'm so overweight.. so there is a lot to think about here..what will i really be able to do..and if i'm able..will i really want to do it. i'll be 60 in a year and a half..i need to clear in my head what i want to keep and what i don't..and go from there.. i haven't worn a piece of jewelry in a few years..so how much do i need to have..i think the beading stuff will be some of the first stuff to go..even though it is mostly all brand new..just too hard to pick up and why if i don't wear it. i enjoy painting and crocheting and am sure i'll do some sewing in the future..but other than that..i think i'm going to pass on all the rest of my crafting things..boy won't the charities love that !!!!! and i'll have a lot of room and then there is gift wrap..i seldom give gifts any more and if i do i usually use a bag..so i think 90 % of the gift wrap stuff is going to move on as well.. move it move it move it

Honestly, yes, taft, just get it out any way you can. Seriously--you are in charge, not the stuff. That's my "Take It Out Back and Smash It With a Hammer" philosophy. Here's another one of my theories: I call it my "Stop Me Before I Kill Again" theory. It will all end up in the landfill anyway. Eventually. It will wear out, get broken, become so out of date nobody wants it. Everything. Seriously--everything. It all goes in the garbage eventually. Just like--we all die. What the end will be is never in question. It is just a matter of time. And, more important, it is a matter of how much good or evil we do (or the stuff does) along the way. Right now that stuff in boxes is evil. Remember your words: "I was feeling so hemmed in by the stuff in this house I couldn't take it anymore. " That's evil--that's what that is. That stuff is a little (or big!) piece of evil in your life. You can't move; your home doesn't feel welcoming; you look at it and feel horrible about yourself. That's evil. Seriously, it is. The stuff is crying out: Stop me before I kill again! So, you have two choices: rehabilitation or execution. If you can rehabilitate it (give it away to someone who will use it; get it into a recycling bin; sell it for money) easily, that's a sensible move. But will it rehabilitate? Will the cost--emotional cost, time cost--be prohibitive? Do you want to find someone who takes "stuff" and sorts through it to find stuff they can sell on eBay? (an eBay entrepreneur?) Do you want to give it to a thrift shop somewhere, so they can see if they want anything? Do you want to pay your college-age/teenage son/neighbor (or maybe your neighbor's cleaning lady) to go through it looking for stuff like money or photos? But all that sounds like a lot of work, with little guarantee it will be viable. Remember, the stuff will continue to work evil while you sort through it. So just toss it. If you're pretty sure you won't lose a $10,000 bearer bond, or something, just throw it out. (I found $40 in cash in a box I sorted through--but it was just one box of sorting. If I had 18 boxes, and someone said, "would you pay $40 to get rid of them?" my answer would have been yes. So you might not need to be that concerned about what's in them.) Good luck! OH! Here's one other option to consider: Let this forum be your discipline. If you want to, you could decide that every day you will eliminate one box. Every day. (Or, OK, every Saturday, you'll eliminate 3 of them, minimum.) Post here, and tell us how you're doing. (Or, make that a real-world situation, which will be more powerful, even: If you've got a good friend, ask her to come help you sort through 5 boxes every Saturday morning; you'll buy donuts if she'll help you. Even if all she does it sit there and say to you, if only by her presence: "Hey, I gave up my Saturday morning to help you get rid of boxes. Get off your bum and get rid of some boxes; don't waste my time." Don't have a friend? Hire a cleaning-lady-type person for a Saturday morning, several weeks in a row, and get boxes, trash bags, and directions to a donation place in place before you start.) Go get 'em, taft!

Hello- I am so sorry I didn't see the last few questions, I don't get alerts and I have moved on to my dining room, so I am not on kitchens often, but I still like to check in.. I hope the info isn't too late Kitchen Aid fridge is Architect Series II built in 36 inch bottom freezer-- we love it, i really debated the width and decided to go with 36 realizing our old fridge is in basement for overflow. The table is an antique french zinc top that I bought at an estate sale in Chicago. I got lucky--will take close ups tomorrow with the light to post Ceilings are 9ft. TV is 57 inches from floor, not ideal we lowered the mantle as much as we could when we renovated. Our couches are okay for viewing, not ideal, we were limited in space. However, has not prevented our family of 5 from lounging on and watching tv. Back splash tile is Ann Sacks Elements field tile in earthenware celest crackle. Again will take pics tomorrow in better light to post. Pillows were from a variety of sources: White with blue were remnants purchased from a designer sale--"Brandelini" yellow pillows "green kasari ikat" and "plumwich navara" Hope this is helpful! Carrie