The Urge To Purge

No, not my last meal but all the clutter, dust collectors and unused items around my house. An electric waffel iron that I eschew in favor of Eggo Apple-Cinnamon Toaster Waffles; dozens of unused wire coat hangers from clothes that have long since gone to Goodwill; dozens more trinkets brought back from world travels; a dumpster's worth of magazines, clipped articles, scratch paper, photographs of who knows what; all of this and much, much more that has rendered my home claustrophobic must be purged.

I don't know how the desire to collect and save all began. Certainly it is something deep in ones psyche, and I'm sure volumes have been written about it. Lately, I have honed in on conversations regardng the simple life. I have a friend who downsized from a 4000 sq. ft. home to a 700 sq. ft. apartment and couldn't be happier now that she can travel unfettered, atttend lectures and take interesting classes at the local community college. I am envious, and even though I still work part-time, I'm sure I could find time to have more fun if I weren't tied to the constant feeling of being overwhelmed by so much "stuff."

On July 8-9, we are having a community garage sale. This, I decided, would be the perfect time for me to get rid of all the excess I have accumulated in 25 years of living in the same place. I began last Monday and so far I have filled 7 leaf bags full of garbage, all things that cannot be recycled. The above picture is the "before" of my office. Pretty bad, huh? When I finish uncluttering my office, I will post the "after" picture. Stay tuned. For anyone in a similar situation, I suggest you read a concisely written ebook, Clutter-Free Forever, as a primer for how to begin the process.

So what does this have to do with dieting? Read the next post.