Some things from the past that I find around home are haunting me, occasionally raising their ugly heads until buried again. As a collector of interesting things, I write this one about hoarding and OCH (an OCD).
My close friend Phil's advice is: "Ask yourself, 'What good will this do for someone if I keep it?'" It's tough deciding, I know from experience.
Phil is convinced that scanning (for digital storage) and discarding papers is a no-brainer solution. Although that can be very time-consuming and requires plenty of digital storage space, I simply started the process as I found papers that I once considered to be lifetime keepers. My 500-GB external drive was amazingly inexpensive, and the image file sizes are much smaller than I expected.
Somewhere I read about the photo solution --taking pictures of keepsakes and "valuables" before discarding or giving away. I started that process when we moved to a new home last year, finally closing out our storage unit; (what a trap!) By the way, shoot your valuables (computer, TV, Wii, antiques, silver, gold) for inventory and insurance purposes. One baby-step at a time works fine; (remember Bob!)
I confess to being a collector, maybe OCH, pointing out examples of "why you should never throw anything away" (a standing joke); but now I'm on the sure path to recovery. It feels great, and helps prepare for the holidays and guests!
Starting takes only minutes, and you will quickly earn a reward, a fast-food treat (remember: energy food; or think of Bob's ecstasy at the dinner table!)
