Stuff Happens

As gay couples go, Tom and I are rather atypical.  Since we both have the day job/real career paradigm going, housekeeping is a lesser priority.  Oh, we clean the place and try to decorate as nicely as possible, don't get me wrong.  It's just that when both you and your spouse are working 55 hour weeks, the last thing you wanna do on a weekend is go through the bedroom closet to sort out which clothes you want to keep and what you to donate.  As a result, our house has a habit of getting cluttered.  Not dirty, but messy.  When I've tried to tackle this on solo, I would inevitably hit the point where I just kick a box over and yell "Why do we have all this crap?" 

So, with both of us having some time off together, Tom and I have been on a tear going through the apartment and getting rid of stuff.  And the experience has been quite lovely. We've been putting stuff in storage, donating stuff to Out of the Closet, shipping out 50 pounds (!) of old VHS tapes to be recycled, and just also throwing stuff out.  When you are home all day surrounded by your stuff, after a while you start to see what stuff you need and what stuff you don't.  After reorganizing the office, I found out we don't need to buy a pen for the next four years.  Seriously, if you need a pen, come see me.  We're flush with 'em.  Three staplers? Not necessary.

There is something quite wonderful about getting rid of stuff.  I do subscribe to "the cluttered house, cluttered mind" aphorism.  When things are put away, I find I am less distracted, less ADD.  I am definitely more focused when I'm not tripping over things, that's for sure.  Back when Tom and I were making the movie, we had a TV/VCR combo in our office to watch dubs of the raw footage. We finally donated that a little while ago.  I still have our old VCR in our living room.  Sentimental reasons?  Maybe.

I do find the older I get, the less and less importance I put on stuff.  There are certain items that I have held onto for sentimental reasons, of course, but I tend to me way more practical about things now.  If the choice is between a greeting card I received from someone in 1997 that has some sentimental value or someting I'll actually use in the next few weeks, then sorry, the greeting card is getting recycled.  When we first moved into our current apartment  nine years ago, we had quite a bit of toys on display. Peppered throughout the place were Tom's Godzilla toys and my Buffy the Vampire Slayer figures. We also had various Star Wars and X-Men toys in select places as well.  But as the years passed, the less and less we wanted these toys out.  And eventually, the bulk of the toys got donated and the rest are tucked away in some storage box, to be given to someone at some point.  Or to maybe be displayed?  Maybe?  Who knows.  All I know is that for the first time in ages, the level of stuff in my life is at a manageable level and it makes me breathe a hell of a lot easier.

Comments

[bstewart23]

Please come to Vancouver and teach my boyfriend all the wisdom you have learned about clutter and stuff.

Until I secretly three the excess out, we had four cheese graters. FOUR. Now, I know I brought one into the household when we moved in together. So unless they're self-replicating, he had three.

Who the hell needs THREE cheese graters?

[bstewart23]

Um, that should be "Until I secretly THREW..."

[Jon]

When Tom and I eventually make our way up north to Vancouver, I'll definitely give Champ some wisdom on decluttering. Now, if the cheese graters are self-replicating, you should get out of the house right now, 'cause that means you are trapped in the beginning of a crappy SyFy movie "Killer Graters".