decluttering (still...again)

I have spent my life gathering stuff. I still own a wee hat, a wee blanket and a very tattered stuffed dog from my baby days. I own a shirt from fifth grade (I do not wear it -- I probably couldn't wear it). I still occasionally find class notes from high school. I like my stuff. Actually, I like the idea of my stuff, but the actual stuff itself overwhelms me. So, I very slowly and very methodically declutter. We have very much reigned in the buying of more stuff, but the situation is something like living in a country where the population is gargantuan. Even though the birth rate is falling off, it's still a crowded place.

Today, I threw away an extremely broken plastic bank and a piece of an espresso machine we gave a away years ago (I think it was years ago). I'm also cleaning out my music collection a bit.

I have a weird attachment to things like my cds. (My cassettes mainly consist of songs recorded from the radio. I didn't start owning my own albums until I was in high school and cds had already taken over). I don't own much in the way of cds, but what I do own, I mainly bought new and paid full price for (um, what was I thinking?). This, in part explains why my collection is so small -- I just couldn't afford more. Also, when it comes time to buy new music (or books), I always get a bit panicky. I know this is weird. I keep thinking, "But what if I realize I wanted something else more? What if I only like one song on this album? What if...?" I'm good at the "what if" game and that usually means I end up walking away having not purchased anything. (I realize that I do this with any purchase and it makes Cardo slightly crazy.)

So, I've mainly kept all of the music I've ever bought, or that's ever been bought for me. I feel strange not having an album to go along with the music I own. I love the idea of buying music from places like iTunes, because it doesn't come with the trappings of waste plastic and paper. But, I also have an attachment to the physical cds themselves. Okay, I'm beginning to feel like I'm going in circles here, so let's wrap this up, shall we?

I am building a give-away pile in our garage. Little by little, I'm adding to it. Going into it today (oh Interweb, I'm embarrassed to admit this...just know that I have no idea why I bought most of this and most of this is very old):
* a Pearl Jam album (I have no idea what it is. The case broke long ago and it's in some random, otherwise empty case.)
* Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause (um, yeah...no explanation will suffice)
* The Young Americans Live (not sure why I bought this, but I did only pay $1)
* Take 6's So Much 2 Say
* the soundtrack from Detroit Rock City (I never saw the movie)

I can't explain my past purchasing choices, because I don't understand them myself. I'm actually relieved to rid myself of these albums. Good riddance, Cluttery Stuff!

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P.S. Perhaps I should have a 'pink with embarrassment' tag?