Anne here, wishing you a happier new year than last year was.
For me, it's that time of year again. And no, I don't mean Christmastide, though we're still doing our daily blog. I'm talking about catching the dreaded end-of-year decluttering bug. It starts when I pack away my Christmas decorations. I always pull some out to go to the charity shop — not my favorites, of course.
But then I have a small pile of Stuff to be given away (or tossed out) and. . . it creeps. Things get added to it — clothes I haven't worn for ages (this could include most of my clothes as I have been practically nowhere during 2020 Lockdown), shoes I don't wear, gifts I don't want, and more.
This is generally a good thing. I'm a collector of Stuff. Not quite a hoarder, but photos of hoarders on the web frighten me because there's a possibility of that becoming Future Me, if I don't declutter NOW! <g> (By the way, the photo on the right is not of my house — it's a cautionary tale from the web, chosen to frighten me sufficiently to keep me decluttering. *g*)
By the way, there's a great site here about compulsive hoarding, with photos of rooms where you can compare your rooms with theirs and rate yourself. Phew! I'm nowhere near these. . . though my spare room and office are heading into danger territory.
This year I'm not simply trying to declutter, I'm attempting to drastically reduce my stuff with a view to moving out of my house. Some stuff will go into storage, but I really need to get ruthless and toss most of it. The hardest thing, of course, is that I'm going to have to cull my books — drastically. I have a huge TBR pile that I've ignored in favor of the one in my e-reader, (and yes, that's it on the left.) I should pass on all those unread paper books — some of which I have already bought as e-books. But what if those ebooks evaporate? Can I make myself give away my paper books? Time will tell.
What about you — is this a time of year when you declutter? Do you err on the hoarder side of things or are you a ruthless declutterer? Any tips for me?