Monday, February 16, 2015

Zen and the Art of Packing Up Every Piece of Crap You Own: Part Three- The Seven Deadly Sins of Stuff

I guess I finally reached that critical mass.

In the mad fury to get everything together, my packing method soon resorted to "dump and sort later." I kind of think that's the way Congress operates: everything starts out with good intentions, we really will get a lot done this year... then near the end---- just dump everything and say you'll deal with it later.

I guess I finally reached the point where I had just had it with boxes. Some of the boxes I had barely gone through, but I just threw them away. I've got far too much stuff.

Here is what I see as the Seven Deadly Sins of Stuff---and hopefully I'll be set free from them this year.

 These are things moving has taught me that I need to let go of... both physically and metaphorically

1 -- Greed: Do I really NEED all that stuff. And why, oh why did I go to a consignment shop the other day looking for MORE stuff? Seriously.

2-- Sloth: Time to finally get cracking and get this stuff organized. Oh hey, what's happening on Facebook...

3-- Pride: Do we have stuff so that other people will see our stuff? I confess, I had a moment of "do I really want people to see this old couch? I need a new one" instead of--- this is the best couch ever. As long as it stays reasonably clean, don't ditch it!

4--Envy: I have a friend whose house is always in perfect order. Perfect. I have no idea how she does it. I want people to see me as this organized person. But to be honest, I'm kind of a mess.

5--Wrath: I usually get kind of pissed off at myself for "how did you let the place get to be this cluttered?" And then sometimes I throw things. Not usually. But sometimes. Esp. when the internet is out.

6--Gluttony: I guess any type of over indulgence can be seen as gluttony. I'm tired of the stuff. I'm tired of apartments looking like an all you can eat buffet of stuff.

7-- Lust: Okay, I can't make this one work. I have a picture of Johnny Depp on my desk. Can that count for something?

Anyone else had experience with these seven deadly sins of stuff? I never realized how much they were around me until I tried to move everything.

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