Confessions of a Pack Rat

The thing with moving when you're a pack rat is actually carrying all the things you own. The path of least resistance on a daily basis might be keeping stuff you're never going to need again, but the path of least resistance when you want to move is to travel light. It's easy to see why some pack rats never move (leaving the 'problem' for their family to deal with).

We're moving in a couple of months (we just have to sign the mortgage papers this week), and our new place is only a little bit larger than our current space, so we need to make sure we're only taking what we will use.

And to help free up more useful space in our new place, I'm accelerating my pack rat rehabilitation. Before I get to my 'twelve' step program, let me share my list of the two things I have the hardest time eliminating.

1. Things that would otherwise end up in a landfill, but I hope to reuse or wish I could recycle.

1. e.g. old computers, plastic bags, half-used pencils, boxes and packaging, clothes, etc.
2. Mementos of experiences.

1. e.g. ticket stubs, gifts, programs, pictures, pamphlets, toys, sports gear, trophies, certificates of achievement, newspaper clippings, notes to self, lecture notes, etc.

Aside from growing up in the home of a disorganized pack rat, I think there's a bit more to my problem.

1. I'm cheap.
1. If giving up space now, and for the next few years, will save me money down the road, then I'll do it.
2. When I do spend money, I want more than just the experience, I also want something tangible.
2. I'm environmentally inclined.
1. This actually paid off, since I held onto computers and bags long enough for recycling programs to start (pats self on back).
3. I'm nostalgic and slightly delusional.
1. I have a professional interest in the past, and I sometimes lose sight of the fact that others don't.

Here are my 'twelve' steps.

1. Admission
1. The first part of the reality check: I'm a spendthrift, but I'm not a spacethrift. 
1. I'm here to work on becoming a better spacethrift, but maybe I should think about dealing with the deeper spendthrift issue ... one day.
2. Recognition
1. My wife is my source of inspiration, and my stuff is inhibiting our ability to make the best possible use of our space.
1. As I get older I realize that I'm going to have countless fantastic experiences, and that the experiences are more important than the things. 
2. It's also easier to dispose of things when you realize just how long you've been delaying the inevitable decision to get rid of it.
3. Examination
1. I store things that I want to reuse, and things that I want to help me remember the past.
1. I rarely reuse things (I'm not as creative as I thought I would be when I decided to keep something). The few times that I try I usually quit before I finish (I'm also lazy).
2. I rarely use mementos to remember the past, and they take up mental and physical space that could be devoted to making new memories.
4. Absolution
1. Removing the clutter I have.
1. This is actually harder than the next step.
2. The expansion of recycling, freecycling and reselling is fantastic.
3. I also find it helpful to take a picture of a treasured item before disposing of it. An electronic copy only takes up digital space, and Google is the biggest electronic pack rat enabler ever.
5. Adapting
1. Reducing the clutter I take in.
1. I actually started reducing my intake of stuff before getting rid of the stuff I had.
2. I have been really good about this for many years (some of it has to do with being too broke to buy things). 
6. Aiding
1. Typing a blog post to help others.
1. This is slacktivism at its finest!

I've hit three hurdles in my recovery from being a pack rat.

1. Gifts
1. Practical gifts
1. Because gifts are special, I want to save these for special occasions.
1. Sadly this means many go unused, so I need to get better at accepting that every day is a special day.
2. When these gifts are in direct competition with something I already have it raises my inner miser's waste alarm. I need to get better at the "one in, one out" rule, especially with things that will languish to the point of futility.
2. Unwanted gifts
1. Try as they might, every so often a loved one gives me something that is impractical, ugly, impersonal or otherwise inappropriate. 
1. It turns out there is no polite way to refuse a gift. 
2. It also turns out that some people find regifting/selling/donating/recycling even more offensive than an honest refusal.
3. A solution
1. My siblings have their own variations of the pack rat affliction. We decided that it was more important that we spend quality time together for holidays and birthdays than buying each other things. We don't do gifts, and we still have an amazing time together.
2. Ticket stubs
1. I've seen some fantastic live events, mostly with my brother. A ticket stub on its own takes up a very small amount of space; hundreds of them is a different story. Sometimes, especially with seasons tickets, the ducats are actually artistic.
1. I am never going to display them for their artistic merit, and I never look at the old stubs except to add another one to the pile.
3. Notes, thought pads and idea journals
1. I've been in university for a long time. I've had a lot of thoughts as I learned about myself and humanity. I jotted many of these ideas on paper, so that I could use my brain for thinking, rather than remembering.
1. I gradually stopped recording my thoughts, because life started making more sense and it was easier to remember the important thoughts and see all the major events with the clarity of hindsight (electronic storage also helps). My coping process allowed me to mature into the man I am today, but those notes aren't going to be helpful in dealing with the next steps in life. 
2. If I ever run out of new good ideas it's not like I'm going to be able to get my head into the appropriate space to develop a half-baked idea scribbled in the margin of random notes. If my precious few good ideas aren't in a digestible format, no one else is going to read them either.

Reducing the stuff that I'm likely to accumulate is easy, but recycling, trashing, selling and donating the stuff that I've already accumulated is hard. I don't even have that much stuff, and it's all neatly organized, so I can only imagine how hard this is for people with legitimate hoarding problems.