A lesson learned (I hope!)

[CarolAnn]

I recently moved to a smaller place. I should say . . . my family moved me. Thank the Lord for good people like I have in my family because I couldn't have managed it by myself. As they helped me sort and pack my sisters started to wonder if I have some sort of hoarding problem!

In fact, I DO have a problem, and this move brought it home.

Under the guize of "being prepared" I have stored way too much of some things and not enough of others. I'd see something on sale and think, "well that would be good in a survival situation."

THAT is not planning or preparing! That is simply hoarding. I had no inventory so I didn't know what I actually had.

It turns out, I had to let go of a lot of "stuff" and as hard as it was, it was good to do. Ten years ago I came here with barely more than the clothes on my back and now . . . lets just say I have plenty. Now it's a normal plenty with some reason to it. Now I do have an inventory and the start of a plan.

I'd be interested in other's - do you actually know what you've got, how old it is, and have an idea of how long it will last? I hope you're better at this than I've been!

[flatwater]

I'm not so sure you have a problem with hoarding , It may be more of a problem with organization. If it's not catagorized it's easy to forget what you bought before and easy to see a good deal and buy again. Having an excesive compulsion disorder is where you would buy a lot of stuff just for the sake of buying it . It sounds like at least you have a plan that just got out of hand a little. The fact that you were able to give some up is also not a sign of E.C.D

[bookwormom]

better at this? Oh, probably worse. first of all , I am married to a packrat, who loves shopping, especially without me, and puts things "there" temporarily. At least I got a lot of shelf space and more to come. got the boards already.
good thing you moved huh?

[wax]

The issue is to organize and... don't assume extra means bad.

In 1998 St Peter Mn was struck with a tornado.
My wife had been yelling at me to go through "that box" because there was no way I would ever need it.
It was titled "nails" and she was right of course because there was no way I would ever need it!!!
I had spent ten years buying every 50 cent worthless box full of nails at every auction I ever went to. And I put them into a container that took up more room and appeared to be more worthless than the room it required every day.
Until that day... when the tornado left and it started raining.
At least 600 homes partially or fully destroyed.

Since then I get Christmas presents left on my step from people I have never spoken to... some of them are quite expensive considering my investment.
But they come each year even though a decade has now passed.
Sometimes when out of nowhere it appears that only the important things are left and for want of a small handful of nails you could stop it from getting wet... well... it is nice to have a huge boxfull appear as if by magic (but a somewhat fatman actually dragged it out while the most beautiful yet somehow stern woman in the world stood by with her hands on her hips).

The key of course is worth.
It is a harsh mistress!