Tuesday, November 11, 2008

sentimental clutter

November 9, 2008

Our place is a mess. In just 5 months, our initially empty place is now filled with stuff. Stuff we thought was cute and decided to keep. Stuff we thought went well with all our other stuff. Stuff we don’t want. Stuff we don’t need. Stuff we couldn’t figure out what to do with and are now just sitting there collecting dust. My parents moved to a new place and I had to pick up even more stuff of my past that had been quietly resting in my now defunct or dare I say, non-existent bedroom. Which literally meant, one of these days, I’d have to sit through the mess and decide once again, which memories need to be kept for another 10 or so years. Maybe it’s my compulsion to associate every single thing with a memory that keeps me from throwing things out. Maybe after all these years, I’m just a sentimental nut.
Our place is tiny. Tiny and functional. Even our stove is the small sized one. Our sofa is a loveseat. Our dining table is expandable. The only thing that’s big is our TV which we don’t even use all that much. Our home used to be essentially minimalist. But people as predictable as we are, we keep buying things, consuming things. Things we don’t really need but gives us relief from our temporary selfish cravings. Things that make us feel good. Things that seem to make sense at the time of purchase but means nothing now.

Organize. Prioritize. Minimize.

I don’t miss the mess. At times, I’m so frustrated I just want to throw everything out. Forget that they ever meant anything to me at one point or another. I’m just afraid I’d regret it once I really start throwing things out. These are memories of my childhood. These are things I’ve carried with me since our first big move to the city. These are things that I used to care about. And though I hardly even recognize myself in them, these are still things that made me who I am today.

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Thanks August Empress for the cool background!