Too much stuff!

When I first start a blog, way back in the mists of time, it was for myself as a way of emptying my head of all the worries and woes.  A lady who I was friendly with at the time had suggested it as a useful mental health tool, and it worked.  I found myself writing down all the things that were good, not so good and downright awful, then trying to forget them.

Then blogging became almost a competitive sport among paper crafters and I felt pressured to have something new to show in every post.  For the most part that was ok but then, as now, I would sometimes give myself a break from it and the requirement to have something new to show.

In the past 2  years I have barely scrapped, I have only made a handful of pages, some of which I was happy with, others not so much.  Throughout this time I have also knitted and crocheted, completed some sewing projects, baked a few cakes and then I was forced to retire from a job I loved, ended a long term relationship, moved house and lost a son.

These last 3 things have really taken their toll.  Being forced to retire was inevitable as I was, and still am, physically unable to work.  I am in constant pain despite the bucket load of pills I have to take each day but that pales into insignificance compared to the others.  My granddaughter told me yesterday that I live in a big house for just one person.  It really isn't, it is only 2 bedrooms and the living room is very small but the kitchen/diner is quite large so it seems big.  She also told me i had too much stuff, which I wholeheartedly agree with.  Too much papercrafting stuff; way, way too many stamps; too much yarn and fabric and too many things I have held onto for sentimental reasons.

I have been in my new house just over a year and when I moved I didn't bring everything with me as I was actually embarrassed by how much stuff I had accumulated.  There was space in the house I was leaving so an agreement was made that I would leave some stuff until I had unpacked and sorted what I had.  Then the lady I thought of as my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer and just 5 short weeks later she died.  All she was worried about was her stuff and what would happen to it.  Her son and I emptied her house and moved all the things that were being kept to his house and she died about a week after that.  Nothing that came from her house was worth a lot of money but she needed to know it was safe before she could let go.

3 years ago one of my best friends, a wonderful lady called Heather Cuthbert, died of cancer.  Like me, she was a scrapbooker but she also made cards, wedding stationary and the most amazing mini books.  Myself and another friend, Janie, volunteered to help Heather's husband clear her craft room.  It was a day of tears and laughter as we shared memories and packed boxes.  Much of Heather's stash had already been taken by various family members who also crafted but there was still an awful lot left.  As Janie and I laughed at some of Heather's more colourful papers we both promised ourselves that we would not leave as much stuff as Heather.  The contents of Heather's craft room were sold off and several hundreds of pounds were raised for her chosen cancer charities.

Last month saw me finally have all of my stuff under one roof and the little bit of space I had created upstairs was once again full of boxes of stuff waiting to be found a home.  I have about 8-10 still to unpack and find homes for.  I have several boxes of stuff waiting to be sold as I won't use it but, most of all, it will be less for my family to deal with when my time comes.  I need to be creating again on a regular basis and start using up what I have. As I'm no longer working funds are tight as my pension isn't great and I don't qualify for a government pension for another 10 years at least.

As best I can I am going to sort and organise my stuff and get rid of things I know I won't use.  Hopefully one day my grandchildren will wonder where all my stuff went, not where is all my stuff going to go.