I wish I could offer you advice, but I'm in the same boat....waiting for some words of wisdom. This I know, though - sometimes it's just good to let go.
I hear you. Decluttering is very liberating indeed. Letting go “stuff” is pretty tough since I was (or maybe I still am) a pack rat also. I must admit it gets easier as the ball gets rolling. Since last year, my wife and I started to purge our unused belongings. We list them in Craiglist, Kijiji, and UsedEverwhere with much success. We decrease the prices on each renewal, and on 4th renewal - they're FREE! Everything disappears quickly at this point. Had one garage sale this year and we are hoping to have another one. Whatever is not sold WILL be donated. Nice to get cash out of the “non-appreciating assets” and invest.To follow the thread about buying too much crap, I wonder if many of you have difficulty with getting rid of stuff. I no longer buy crap and I find it extremely liberating (as well as good for my purse). However, because of my frugal side, I have difficulty letting go of things that I already own but no longer need. For a concrete example, I still have several boxes of disquettes even though I swear only by my USB key. Also, I have boxes of stuff advertized online that never sold. I still keep them... maybe another garage sale one day... Anyone in a similar boat ? How do you deal with this ? Sometimes I just feel like hauling everything to a church or value village and breathe the freedom, the packrat frugal side be damned
Dave
You may want to donate said magazines to your local library or church. I would like to see students and kids continuing to develop a strong love for reading even though they are getting bombarded with the latest tech toys and gears.I've got a pile of old issues of The Economist wasting space on some shelves at home. I've thought about trying to sell them on eBay, but then again, it would be much easier to dump them in the recycling bin...
Unfortunately, I was raised by a family of pack rats; I was never very good at decluttering.