So Why Didn't We Throw it Away?

Woohoo, I managed to start my Spring cleaning....slowly but surely it will get done. The latest buzz though is decluttering. I have seen a lot of articles on the internet about decluttering ie how to get rid of things that you don't want.  There's even the Japanese method of decluttering (how different can it be between cultures?) - "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo. She asks a very valid question when deciding what to get rid of  though, 

and then there is "Stuffocation" by James Wallman who lives by the motto 

"Memories live longer than things"

When I first started the blog train, "I Didn't Throw it Away", I was quite surprised how a number of bloggers interpreted it to mean "hoarding".  It did get me thinking, "Am I a hoarder?" and so I did some research and asked a few friends. 

So, Am I Hoarding?

I would say hoarding is a behavioural disorder (maybe medical condition?) during which you have, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America "persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value". In fact, there are symptoms associated with hoarding including inability of throwing away things and severe anxiety when throwing things away.  Hoarding does impact your enjoyment of life - as a friend put it "if you have several sewing machines that you use for different reasons, or display for their beauty then that's not hoarding ...... But if you have a compulsion to keep accumulating for the sake of it, it constricts your daily life, is a source of embarrassment and brings you no real joy, I would say that is a problem."

I think over-buying / consumption and at the same time not throwing away also contributes to hoarding as well.



So Why Didn't I Throw It Away?

I think the questions "Is it still useful?" and "Do I still need it?" help me decide whether to throw something away, but as the blog train began, I realised that it was also the memories that we had with these items that made us keep them. 

Quotes from Gingerbread Mum, Peipeihaohao, Dominique's Desk, LapisWilliam and Fafafoom
(from top L, clockwise)

It is interesting how objects become much more than things we use when we know their stories. They now form part of our memories - our darkest hours and our happiest moments - a reminder of what could have been, and a reminder of how we were or had forgotten.  Someone asked but if an object holds many memories for me but I don't have any use for it, can I throw it away? My response would be not to throw it away, but perhaps pass it on to a person who would show the same (if not more) love and care for it - let that person have the joy of creating their own memories and stories with it.


Missed the blog train? Read the posts here:

1 Dec  Green Issues by Agy  
2 Dec  JoeyCraftWorkz 
3 Dec  Gingerbread Mum
4 Dec  Mum in the Making 
5 Dec  Dominique's Desk 
6 Dec  Prayerfull Mum 
7 Dec  My Lil Bookworm 
8 Dec  Simply Me 
9 Dec  Mum Craft 
10 Dec Mad Psych Mum 
11 Dec Growing with the Tans 
12 Dec Mums the Word 
13 Dec The Kam Family  
14 Dec PeiPei.HaoHao
15 Dec Xavvy-licious  
16 Dec Adopt an Ami 
17 Dec Angel Hearts Crafts 
18 Dec Lapis William  
19 Dec Rhinestic's Knick Knacks 
20 Dec Hello, Mrs Tan

Christmas Break!!

2 Jan  Rude Record 
3 Jan  Refab Diaries  
4 Jan  Creating My Way to Success 
5 Jan  Recycled Fashion  
6 Jan A Vintage Crafty Adventure   
7 Jan Cucicucicoo     
8 Jan Sum of Their Stories    
9 Jan Fafafoom     
10 Jan Vicky Myers Creations
11 Jan Little Did You Know 
12 Jan Mountainsno
13 Jan Penelope Cake Fashion
14 Jan The Little Treasures
15 Jan Swoodson Says
16 Jan Notes to Ginny
17 Jan Purfylle  and  Feather's Flight