Chronic Disorganization (more a rant than anything else)

[Nikki-Liz]

I always try to be organized, I have folders, boxes, those rubbermaid drawers, book cabinets, and every other organizational tool you can imagine.
And they are all just adding to the mountains of clutter filling my room.

I'm kind of a pack-rat I have boxes of things that I refuse to throw out (I have every birthday card I've ever gotten since the day I was born) Things that frustrate me because they take up space but that I feel guilty throwing out, including stuffed animals, porceline dolls (which I never actually liked but people give me as gifts), old school notebooks, text books from college that I'm affraid to throw out because they may be helpfull to me later.

I feel like Im drowning in everything I own, I have to keep my bed by the door of my room because It is sometimes impossible to walk in my room. I have a beautiful cello that I NEVER play anymore because I have no room to do so. Just looking at this crap depresses me to the point of no motivation, so therefore the days I set aside to reclaim my space end up being days I spend sitting on my bed in the middle of my chaos (which is usually made worse by my attempts to organize) crying and beating myself up for being such a mess. I have on several occasions resolved to just get a dumpster put it outside the window and just throw everything out the window... but that of course is extreme and never happens. Even clothing purges give me this HUGE sense of anxiety like if I throw out the care bears t-shirt I havent worn in 4 years Im suddenly going to NEED it, or if I just ditch the huge basket of mismatched socks I will suddenly find the matches that I haven't seen in years.

The chaos used to be confined to my room but I've started to spread out my laundry room is horrendous, my car is a disaster, and now it's starting to filter into my desk at work.

I hate myself for this :redface:

[kellybeen18]

Don't beat yourself up over it! Actually, lots of people hoard things because they just can't part with them. I know how you feel about wanting to be organized, though. I am really quite a neat-freak and I have a strange compulsion to organize. My office-mate's space looks like what you described, and I would love to jump in there and whip it into shape, but I know it will be back to the way it was in a minute.

I think if it really bothers you that much, you should try to change the way you think. Stop collecting things you aren't sure you will need, get friends to help you clean and organize so you can stay focused, and just resolve to get rid of stuff. Donate to a local thrift store and think about how someone else might really appreciate it more than you! Just because you get rid of something doesn't mean it's erased from your memory. You can even try taking digital photos of some things so you can remember them without keeping them!

[HDC80]

Deep breath.
Its fine to keep all those items, but its understandable that they are taking over and making you feel overwhelmed.

Use those containers to help you put items of likeness together.....pull all your porcelean dolls together, how big of a box do you need for them? Get that size container, place dolls inside, label, and place in a corner.

Now move onto the stuffed animals---pull them all together, how much room do you need to store those, get a box big enough, place inside, label and put on box labeled dolls in corner.

If you take one item at a time and pull them together, you can keep everything and have it organized so you can find it and not feel as cluttered.

Good luck.