New year's resolution

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new year in my life. Today, I've gotten a bee in my bonnet about all the stuff that has taken over my home. Possibly a symptom of a dysfunctional childhood, carried over into a good bit of adulthood, I have this irresistible need to acquire things. Oddly, it isn't the having that matters, it's the acquisition. All too often, once I actually possess a thing, it loses much of my interest. But I still have a problem getting rid of it. How twisted is that?!

It's not like I'm a shopaholic. I'm really not much into shopping. And I strongly dislike going to the mall. I probably average one mall visit every 2-3 years. I do enjoy an occasional garage sale. And I'm all over a good curb-shopping adventure. Yep, I'm all about the bargain. But I've gone overboard and feel like I'm drowning in things. Things that I like, but more often than not don't go with any of my other things.

Every now and again, I look around and say to my self, 'Self, you need to DO something about this mess.' And I am filled with determination... for about 5 minutes. It takes me about that long to look around, wonder where to begin, get discouraged and give up. Sometimes, I actually start moving things around, but in the end, I've only accomplished a tiny positional shift in my chronically chaotic cosmos.

But this is a new day. I made myself just jump in somewhere... anywhere... and clear a space without filling another. And after a few minutes, I can see my dining room table! It feels good! Now if I can just keep that feeling after Duller gets home.

Duller is a piler. Honestly, every single time I clear a space, he comes along and fills it with something else. We've gone round and round about this, but he doesn't retain anything we've talked about any longer than it takes the echoes of my frustration to fade. He'll come in and MAYBE notice, for a change, then he'll put his briefcase, wallet, keys, pens, coins, 2 cell phones, name tag, tie, Publix bag, CD, and whatever other accoutrements he's carrying in the new empty space and it'll look just like it did before, only with different stuff.

I know what you're thinking. So I cleared the table. Big hairy deal. But it's a start. This weekend, I'll tackle my desk and maybe muster up enough gumption to open a closet door. Baby steps, people. Baby steps. 8-}