Purging Hoarders: No Need For Intervention

Well, I've decided to take the plunge and move from Deadmonton, Hellberta (Edmonton, Alberta) back to my home town of Vernon, BC. I'm still a little leery about moving back into my parents' house... I know with the economy the way it is, I'm not the only one that has been faced with this decision... I know I won't pull a "George" from Seinfeld, it's just a pit stop to help pay off some bills in order to reach my ultimate goal of Victoria.

Now that my decision has been made, it's time to pack... My parents' just sold and packed up their house of 17 years. Ironically, in that process, they sent me stuff that I had been storing in their  basement for the last 10 years. I hadn't realized the sheer amount of stuff I had collected over my 29 years..... I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder by any means... Now that I have everything, it's time to purge before that statement is no longer true.

I had gone through the boxes prior to them being sent. I parted with and purged books, clothes, stuffed animals and other knick knacks. Now it's time to trim the mountain even more and repack. I know what it's like to have certain memories be tied up in material things. That connection makes it hard to part with an item... Going through the pile, I came across things I had totally forgotten about and decided to keep because of the memories they brought up. My pile is slowly shrinking, none the less.

I think I found the "cause" of my minor case of Hoarding. This past summer, my Grandmother also moved. This was a "down sizing" move for Grandma, but the only thing that seemed to downsize was the size of her house... Not the amount of material she has in that house. I'll give her credit, she has let go of a few things, not nearly enough though. I realize that there is a lot of stuff that reminds her of Grandpa. Almost 50 years together - It's to be expected... But certain things I just don't understand. I don't know how many sets of dishes she has - all I know is, she's got far too many... And she's got typical "hoarder" lines like "Well, you never know when they'll come in handy!" or "You'll need extra plates for Christmas!" I love my Grandma - like I say, I think I got this Gene from her! (But I swear sometimes that Lady's just straight up stubborn!) My Mum and Aunts have decided to pull their own "intervention" by volunteering their time to get her organized. Maybe they'll get a few sets of dishes to Value Village.... Or my one of cousins that could use a set...

So, you know what I'll be doing for the next month... Getting rid of clothes that don't fit or have gone out of style... Getting my own dishes down to a reasonable amount... Getting rid of the kids books I no longer have use for... Getting rid of old things that no longer have meaning - like knick knacky gifts from ex's... Old computer stuff... I forsee a few trips to Value Village and Computer Recycling places...

It's not always about me; At least I'm not like an episode of Hoarders where there's garbage laced around the boxes... I guess I'm a purging hoarder of sorts...