Finding Permanent Homes

I've sorted through several containers for awhile and now I can empty (for more stuff of course) and find a permanent home for these items. However, I have heard the advice about only keeping what I have room for. It's good solid advice. The problem? After sorting through this stuff, I still have too much "important to keep" stuff. More than my humble home has room to store. And since these items are important, I cannot possibly throw them out. This train of thought actually rings true in several other areas of my life as well.


Chris likes to tell the story about how I am a great writer. I was so great that a national magazine even asked me to revise my work and resubmit it. To most writers this would be awesome! However, what the editor asked me to do seemed impossible. The editor simply asked me to eliminate a character he felt was unnecessary. In my mind,this character could not be eliminated. So, I didn't do anything more with the story. A few years later, I took the story out and started to edit it. The character still remained necessary, but I tweaked it so she had less of a role--which I did think was needed.  But, then they shrunk the word size of what they would accept. Frustrated, I put it aside again. About a year ago, I decided to reread the story again. I once again edited it (this is a process with me). And guess what? As I started to edit, I realized that character--the one the editor had wanted to have removed 5 years earlier--was unnecessary. So, I deleted her. Now, if I had deleted her five years earlier, I would be $1000 richer.


The problem is simple: I like to keep things. I like complete control. I am Type A. Yes, I am. Type A doesn't mean obsessively clean. It's a mind-set of how much control you need. When I cannot be in control, I give up. I put things to the side to forget about, and blame it on anything else--Chris, the kids, my busy lifestyle. But honestly, it's because I cannot do it perfectly or the way I want.


The irony?


The more I keep, the less control I feel.


I will go back to the boxes and what doesn't have a home, will be sold on ebay. After all, simply living will help me feel more in control.