Eesh, there is nothing like working on an inventory of ALL your stuff to make you realize exactly how MUCH stuff you have. Years ago, I started an “inheritance inventory” of our belongings, designed to be a list for my children to know the history and provenance (as much as possible) of all the items in our house.
We have furniture from my grandparents, from my parents, from Anders’ parents. We have art and knick-knacks and figurines from all over the world. I read about this somewhere and my little organizing-devil OCD mind thought, “oooh, what a great idea!” I don’t know exactly how many line items I managed to complete before pretty much abandoning the project years ago, probably because I was overwhelmed THEN by the sheer amount of things we own.
Don’t get me wrong; I love our stuff. I get great pleasure out of having beautiful things to look at no matter what room I’m in. This pretty much sums me up most of the time. But we have a BIG house, with lots of rooms, lots of shelves, and lots of things.
After talking this weekend about inheritances and mentioning this particular project, I was encouraged by both Camilla and Annelott to revisit it (they both thought it was a great idea…probably because neither of them has nearly as much stuff) and I’ve spent a lot of time since Friday working on it. I had to divide the Excel up into several sheets, because I’ve divided up everything into categories based on broad definitions of the material it is made from (ceramic, glass, metal, etc.) or what it’s for (furniture, linens, art).
Even though I keep taking breaks to go read or check email or whatever, I keep coming back and working on it. After I get as much as possible listed as line items (category, description, provenance (gift, purchased, made, inherited) and by/for/from whom), I want to take photos of everything to add to the document as well.
Certifiable? Yes, yes, I am.
It might be that I get tired of it again, and abandon it mid-job like I did before, but I think I’ll keep plugging away at it. It’s also a good way for me to take a really hard look at everything and make decisions about things I might want to purge. It’s just stuff, after all, and there is more than enough stuff in the world. Someone else can enjoy it, too, if I should decide to donate or sell something (asusming my kids don’t want it).
And just think what a sense of satisfaction I will have when I am finished. Of course, that’s assuming I never buy or receive anything ever again that would necessitate any updates.
HAHAHAHAHAHHAA
mood: productive
music: Daði Freyr—Think About Things