Purging in that Healthy Non-Bulemic Way
Mar 15, 2010 by rilla
Last Friday, Kaz and I went to the bank and finalized all the details for the purchase of our new home. We discussed sums of money that I didn't really comprehend until we did the break down of how much we would be paying per month, and then things seemed a lot more manageable. Anyway, even though we're not moving until the middle of next month, we've started packing up the stuff that can be packed. I kind of love sorting through my things and putting aside stuff that I no longer need to carry with me.
I thinned out my book and movie collection. I figured a woman who doesn't really believe in god anymore shouldn't have that many Bibles. I donated two and kept my study Bible which is an excellent reference source. It helped me through several Religious Studies and English essays. I also put aside a lot of the children's books that I had purchased in my late teens, that I had planned on reading to my children one day. These were mostly religious in theme, and I thought that perhaps some other family would appreciate them more than my bookshelf, which only receives looks of confusion and embarrassment. I kept all my Little Critter books, also purchased for unborn babies, but I feel better about justifying these as I still find them rather adorable and fun to read.
As for movies, we pared down a lot on the dark-but-brilliant genre because I don't sit down on a Friday night and think, "The Crow. That's the movie I want to watch to kick start my week-end." I had several movies that were either too violent or too creepy to warrant repeated watches, so they are also being donated. My donation box will represent the mess that is my psyche.
I've been dragging around a corpse of an afghan for eight years or so. My grandma had knit it for me in the year of declining health before she died. When Rob and I moved Caesar into our house, he destroyed it. He chewed and dug enormous holes in it. By the time we discovered what he had done, the blanket was gone. I'm a sucker for sentimentalism, and so it has accompanied me on three moves, despite it being a ruined rag. This week-end, I let it go. I did not, however, let go of the huge folder of Caesar's health records because that shit is sacred... despite his blanket-destroying ways. Dammit, now she's crying about the dog again.
The purging will continue for the next month.
I thinned out my book and movie collection. I figured a woman who doesn't really believe in god anymore shouldn't have that many Bibles. I donated two and kept my study Bible which is an excellent reference source. It helped me through several Religious Studies and English essays. I also put aside a lot of the children's books that I had purchased in my late teens, that I had planned on reading to my children one day. These were mostly religious in theme, and I thought that perhaps some other family would appreciate them more than my bookshelf, which only receives looks of confusion and embarrassment. I kept all my Little Critter books, also purchased for unborn babies, but I feel better about justifying these as I still find them rather adorable and fun to read.
As for movies, we pared down a lot on the dark-but-brilliant genre because I don't sit down on a Friday night and think, "The Crow. That's the movie I want to watch to kick start my week-end." I had several movies that were either too violent or too creepy to warrant repeated watches, so they are also being donated. My donation box will represent the mess that is my psyche.
I've been dragging around a corpse of an afghan for eight years or so. My grandma had knit it for me in the year of declining health before she died. When Rob and I moved Caesar into our house, he destroyed it. He chewed and dug enormous holes in it. By the time we discovered what he had done, the blanket was gone. I'm a sucker for sentimentalism, and so it has accompanied me on three moves, despite it being a ruined rag. This week-end, I let it go. I did not, however, let go of the huge folder of Caesar's health records because that shit is sacred... despite his blanket-destroying ways. Dammit, now she's crying about the dog again.
The purging will continue for the next month.
Posts
We too are purging. Or at least, Jeremy is trying to get me to do so. Instead he has met the irrational being that I can sometimes be when losing something close to me that I haven't fully realized the affect it is having on me. My first house is a big deal. It's been very good to me. I've been resisting the purge, but have let the rational me have control back and am realizing that some of the things I already packed probably shouldn't have been.
I concur - that shit is definitely sacred, btw.
Purging is for the best. After all, you have to get ready for the new-house binge. :)
I think purging is a sign of being healthy and having a healthy mind... I purge on a regular basis and it feels really good being a minimalist... Heather :)
Suz: Kaz and I have had a few small conflicts on the process of purging. Whereas I do not see the need of keeping video game components that we will never ever use, Kaz does not see the need for several boxes of old essays and notes. Sacrifices have been made on both fronts.
AJ: Alas, there may be no funds for the new-house binge, but the principal of purging is still good.
Heather: I'd like to be more of a minimalist, but I think my defining characteristic is sentimentalist. It doesn't lend itself to minimalism very well.
The last time I purged I also recalled. It was very helpful to, as I went through things, put out the call for things that were lent out so that I had them back before I moved. Maybe it is just me, but when I move I want all of my stuff to be accounted for and preferably all in the same place. If you put out the recall you also get an idea of whether or not you even want the items in question.