Quote Originally Posted by cassiesmom View Post
Could you please forward the urge to me? I have a LOT of stuff that needs moved o-u-t.

The best thing that helped me (a confirmed life long packrat) was a series of books by Don Aslett; Clutter's Last Stand, Not For Packrats Only, and How To Lose 200 LBS This Weekend.

Aside from the humorous way he writes and the cute cartoons in the margins, his books are full of helpful advice to declutter your home, even for die hard packrats like me.

After I read his books in 2006 I started working on decluttering my own home (which was bad, let me tell you). I finally had my last garage sale this summer. In total I think I pitched about 18 garbage bags of stuff, donated 6-8 boxes of stuff plus some furniture, and sold about 10 pickup trucks full of stuff!! And honestly I don't miss hardly a thing. It was all so buried around here that I couldn't even enjoy what I had. Now it's being enjoyed, and USED by someone else, or it's finally had the burial it deserved years ago.

Thanks to the advice in the book, the super sentimental stuff I took pictures of before getting rid of it, so now I can look at it any time I want without spending 3 hours digging in the basement for it, or worrying how to store it.

It also changed what I buy and bring into my home now. While I wish I could say I have empty shelves abound, I do have an occasional empty shelf here and there, and no longer get attacked by things opening cupboards and closet doors, and I can find most stuff again without hiring an excavation team!

I figure it it helped a packrat like me, those books will help anybody. I highly recommend getting them, or at least checking them out at the library.