Rebuilding Rob

Where can you reduce clutter in your life?

Once again, it seems appropriate that I would get a prompt on this topic; as I am currently in the process of decluttering my childhood home.

My father passed way nine years ago this February and there are still things of his in my parent’s house, sitting; as if he’s coming back to use them again. The Old Man was something of a hobbyist; switching back and forth over the years between baseball cards and model trains. As he collected both of these over a few decades, making them disappear doesn’t happen overnight.

The rule I have always heard about clutter is that if you have something boxed up and you haven’t used it in a year, then you no longer need it.

I definitely have my own fair share of clutter that could stand to be pared down…

Clothing

I have started getting rid of clothing that no longer fits. I would keep it a shirt or a jacket saying if I just lose a little more weight, I’ll fit into this again. But the truth is, by the time I fit into something again, it will probably be out of style anyway.

Recently though, I have begun saying goodbye to those shirts that are a little snug. My purpose for it is twofold. First, I want to reduce my clutter. Second, I have decided to reward myself with NEWER, better-fitting clothing if/when I lose weight.

CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays

As a person in my late teens/ early 20s in the 1990s, I amassed a substantial collection of compact discs (CDs) that are sitting in boxes in my basement. While I’ve fully embraced streaming media, I’m not ready to let go of my hard copies yet. On the other hand, while there is some music that never makes its way to streaming, the vast majority of music I listen to is available via streaming; thus making my CD collection obsolete AND a waste of space

Movies seemingly go in and out of rotation on the various streaming platforms. Also, unlike music, where you can find content from multiple labels on a single app, most of the tv/movie studios have their own streaming platforms. If you want to watch a Warner Bros movie, you need a subscription to max. Anything from Disney requires a Disney+ subscription.

If it sounds like I’m making excuses for my CD, DVD and Blu-Ray collection, I probably am. But it is getting harder to justify keeping physical media.

Books and comic books

For guys in the 70s one their biggest status symbols was their home stereo system. In the 90s, the computer became the big bragging point for nerds. For dorks like me, we’ve always boasted about our book collection.

I guess it kind of goes without saying that, as an English teacher, I’m going to have a large collection of books, both in my home and in my classroom. When two and I were together, she would scour garage sales looking for as many novels so she could get on a good deal for me. Until a few months ago, I had enough new and used novels to start my own classroom library. I’ve started the process of scaling back in the last few months. Ever since Covid, there seems to be less of a demand for hardcopy media. Books are no exception. Heading to that, I’ve never been able to get into e-books. There’s just something about the tattoo sensation of holding a book in my hand.

Likewise, I still have my comic book collection from my childhood and early teenage years. As I got into college, and had to start paying bills, my disposable income disappeared. When that happened, my comic book collection stopped growing. I’m not sure why. I’m still hanging onto all of them. For a long time there is a thought that they would all be worth money someday, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore after all, if there’s six copies of X-Men #1, and only 2 million people want it, it won’t be worth anything.

Old Baggage

Of course, there is another kind of clutter in my life that I need to dispose of. Things from for my past. Far too many digital photos saved on my iPhone. Too many numbers telephone numbers of women who I no longer talk to, let alone date.

I think sometimes I just don’t like to close the door on people. It takes a lot for me to say “never again“. I have gotten better about this in the last few months, but there’s still a few numbers and a few photos that I’m not ready to let go of. Yet.

There’s an exchange in The Breakfast Club near the end of the movie when Claire is going through Bender’s wallet. In turn, Bender goes through Claire’s purse. Claire is appalled that Bender has the photos of numerous girls in his wallet. Likewise, Bender is stunned to see that Claire keeps so much make up in her purse. Eventually, they ask each other why; to which they answer…

CLAIRE: I guess I don’t like to throw anything away.

BENDER: Me neither. 

Do any of us?

This weekend, I watched an Australian documentary, called “Batman and Me“ – that speaks very much to the collector epidemic. Check out my review of it here.

What can you do to reduce clutter in your life?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:

• Thoughts that keep me up at night
• Requiem for a mall
• what makes a great teacher
• The O.R. Virgin
• A Day in the Life of Rob

The article “Do We Own our Stuff, Or Does Our Stiff Own Us?“ originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob.