Chim Chim Cher-ee
If you know me in person, and you knew what I was doing for the past two days, I believe you would be shocked. For those who do not know me for more than a year or so, you will just have to take my word for it.
For two days, D and I have been busy sweeping floors, cleaning our room and supposed office, and well… I chucked out some stuff. This may be a regular thing with most people, but I tell you, it is not that regular for me. See, I am a pack rat. Uh huh. Yeah, I was born under the year of the rat (wood rat to be exact), and I do have pack rat tendencies (read: compulsive hoarding). I keep stuff like reciepts, papers, pair-less earrings, dislodged fake gems, and whatever trinkets I happen to have. I think I got that from my mother’s side – although heaven knows she is anything but a pack rat (my grandma is 
).
Shocking, even for me, when I found myself stuffing more things into the garbage bag than I normally would. Even those pieces of papers I once thought were “memorable” now found themselves crumpled beside dust, lint, and God-knows-what. I understand now that decluttering is indeed a good thing, and although I hardly doubt if it made a dent on my artistic sensibilities of hoarding, but it sure tidied the place up, much to my husband’s happiness, if I may say so myself.
But you know what? Although I did throw a lot of stuff out, and at least managed to obtain a sense of order in our little nook, I believe it means one thing: MORE SPACE TO PUT STUFF! Yipee!! LOL
So yeah, maybe D’s face sort of fell when I told him I could now bring home the stuff I already managed to accumulate at work. LOL But who cares? I can hoard all I want, yaknow, provided that I learn how to tidy up. 
But you know something? I believe there is some good that comes out of my hoarding. Many times in the past, I have hoarded some trinkets and what not for memory’s sake, yet I have no problem giving them to people who I want to share it with. In my opinion, it makes the offering a bit more special especially since the trinket already had a piece of memory or story to go with it. That, of course, is situational since there are some people who do not want stuff that has memories in it. But me? I love acquiring stuff that has a story or two… like those notebooks that Pareng Dan gave me, or my dream catcher keyholder that came from Palawan which Alexis gave me, or the golden feather that traveled from Japan to reach my recent bedside book’s pages – a gift from Lainee Lang, and so many others.
Would you like me to tell you the stories of my trinkets? Hmmm.. yeah, I shall. Soon. But for now, I think it would be best if I left you with these revelations that maybe I have somewhat evolved a bit… because I can now let go of stuff that may be bordering on the rubbish side… LOL yet not quite.
At least for now I can roll on the floor while its clean, and maybe draw a sketch or two.
Reading your post made me feel lighter for some reason, Lurch! I am not a pack rat, but I live with a family of pack-rats and am too familiar with the feeling you get after you have just decluttered… its a good feeling, a good feeling indeed, although most of the time I declutter other people’s clutter… my sisters’ for the most part. Why the cleaning spree?
hehehe I’m glad it made you feel lighter, selle!!
LOL really? So more or less you and my husband have the same jobs.. wakekekekeke..
ah well.. cleaning spree ‘coz of the fiesta. we have some peeps coming to visit and uhmm… the hub demanded that I help make our little nook presentable. LOL just in case some of the guests decide to crash.