"Life Laundry" On BBC-America... Ever Watch It?

It's a show about how to de-junk and de-clutter your life. Have you ever seen the show? Are you a packrat too?

Sometimes I wish that two people would descend on my house & garage and give me the strength, wisdom, and courage to start throwing things away.

Fortunately, I'm not nearly as bad of a packrat as the people featured on the TV show. Unlike some of them, I seriously doubt I'd break down into tears at the thought of throwing something away.

BUT it would be nice to have someone at my side to ask difficult questions and make me face REALITY that some things are better off being thrown out.

The latest bit of advice and words of wisdom that I picked up from the show is this: "The things in your closet should represent who you are RIGHT NOW. Not who you once were, and not who you want to be."

Basically, if it's too small and there's no chance that you can fit in it right now... throw it out. If it's out of style... throw it out. If you haven't worn it in over a year... throw it out.

By the time I get myself back down to a 32" waist, the pants I'm hanging on to will be out of style or will have rotted on the hanger. If or when that day ever arrives, I can go out and BUY NEW pants as a reward. --- But until then, I'll have more usable room for my 34/36 pants if I just get rid of the old ones.

It's true... the fact that the pants have hung there for the past 2 years have not inspired me to lose the extra 4". So why do I leave them there? If I ever get inspired, it won't be due to the pants in my closet.

-- Allen

he just doesn't know where to start and finds it overwhelming, so I was able to kind of guide him through making the decisions and sorting stuff out... it was really fun. And now I see progress that he continues to make every time I see his place.

I try to weed out at least one item for every new thing I bring into the house; really helps cut down on excess.

I put my house on the market last spring and before I did, I threw out 25 years worth of "things". We had to use a dumpster! The house has finally sold so I am getting ready to move...I am now throwing out MORE stuff!!! I don't know where it came from. I think someone is sneaking in while I'm not there and depositing stuff! :-)

I think I could get some good advice from this show. Unfortunately, RCN, my cable company, does NOT carry BBC America.

I think it's time I called them and suggest it.

Terry

I hope we get it, also. I know there's an audience for it!

:-)

Terry

I could really use some help. There are professional services that do this, but they cost A LOT.

A recent show was really good--the guy had actually collected some fairly interesting stuff from the 50's & 60's. However, there was no longer any room in the house for his family. Rather than tossing everything, they worked to convince him to start selling it off on a regular basis.

I also think the car-boot-sale* expert on the show is quite an attractive fellow.



* "flea market" in American English

a lot from it.

Our family is genetically predisposed to be pack rats. :)

I hang on to many, mnay things from the past that represent a certain time or experience. I learned to display these items instead of having them away in drawers or boxes.

And I do the "have you worn it/used it" in the past year or two thing when doing a big clean.

Another of my new favorite shows is "House Doctor" -- I can't believe the conditions of some of these places that are being sold -- I'd be ASHAMED to let someone in my house when it was like that, let alone try to sell it.

And I do have a mad crush on Alastair from "Cash in the Attic" -- he'd be my perfect man if he were into vaginas. :)

Say Allen, it's almost spring -- are you in possession of a shiney new JOHN DEERE yet????

We got one back in the summer of last year. I would not have been able to keep this acre mowed without it!!

We also purchased a tow-behind (10 cubic feet) garden wagon. It's been very useful also. I've used it to move brush and logs from cut-up dead trees to bags of leaves lumber. It makes working on our "farm" a lot easier and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Also... the nice folks at John Deere gave me a free John Deere baseball style visor work cap. Green of course. I look so butch riding around on my tractor with my jeans, steel-toe work boots, plaid flannel shirt, and green cap.

-- Allen <-- He's a lumberjack and he's okay.

wont to stay right on the ol' Snapper or Lawn Boy or Cub Cadet or Whatthehellever and ride 'er on down to the Thunder Bar to hang with the rest of the grumpsters of a Saturday evening once the chores are done....

The Australian organizer is terrific and the carpenter, Eric, is my ideal man (not just physically, he just screams "decent human being".)

It really helped me out the last time I moved. I have a serious book fetish and was facing hundreds of dollars of moving fees to ship paperbacks cross country. I donated them to the local library and haven't looked back since. It's actually fun rebuilding the collection by absolutely forbidding myself to buy new books before I finish the old ones.