Pack Rat Syndrome
Mon 2011/06/20 09:57 JST
My friends, I have Pack Rat Syndrome. I don't know when I started getting this
but this is some raw pictures I took of my current situation. I. Need. Help. I don't know how to part with my stuff!
I've settled in this home for about 10 years and for the past few years,
I've been moving into other homes while I kept this area of my parents' house as my storage and now... it's a shameful mess.
I feel bad for my parents to have to deal with all of this on a daily basis even when I don't live at home.
There must be a way to fix this! I'll be posting updates on my cleaning project here... But for now, I'd love some advice!
I don't see how cleaning needs advice. You probably know them already.
Besides some messy spots, your room looks pretty awesome.
Well, I can clean a kitchen or a bathroom or... just anything with some soap and sponges. But this is a room with too much stuff,... I think I need advice in learning how to let go of objects. :(
Well, I personally keep all of my boxes and it seems you do too. But those brown cardboard boxes should be thrown away.
It's unlikely that you will re-read all those magazines so put all of them in a closet or a place that you will hardly go to. But darn, you sure have a lot of magazines. I don't think you got them online, did you?
For figure boxes, gather up similar size ones and keep stacking. Big ones first and where small ones might fit, go them there. Then just stack the small ones.
For the shelf where you put your figures, do you see how much space there are above those figures? I suggest getting your figma boxes (because they are the same size) and creating a layer then put your figures on top of the layer of boxes.
Well if you wanted to sell any of your stuff but don't want to part with it, just think of how happy someone else will be with that figure/magazine/book/etc.
I know it's hard, but I wish you luck!
Oh yeah, for sure! I'm donating a good portion of my magazine to a Japanese kids school nearby next week! :D
First step to helping out!
When you clean up please upload pictures! We'll all be waiting!
If you're really having a difficult time letting go of your stuff and your parents don't mind the excess for a while longer, you can always start small. Take 5 to 10 items you could possibly bear to part with, pack them up, and hide them out of sight for a week or two. If you don't miss these items or don't really think about them, then you will be able to part with them, even if you're a bit sad during the selling/packing/shipping process. I read this advice on a forum once, and it really helped me to part with my excess collectibles.
Good Luck with finding a solution that works for you, and if the above doesn't work out, you can always try watching a bunch of "Hoarders" episodes. That show got me to clean my entire apartment up, lol!
The thing is.. I'm out of room to even hide things away, it's kind of tough. I know I don't think about this stuff anymore but every time I approach them again, I get reminded how fun everything is! I need to watch "hoarders". xD
hmm attic?underneath bed?ummm make a nite stand out of the magazines?make some kind of wall art with the magz?if there space on top of kitchen cabinets put some stuff there?
I think I need to get some wall shelves but I'm not sure if they'd help on the long run cause the trash I have eould look even more obvious up there. Haha!
Very nice collection you have there!
A few solutions:
1. If you have room in your backyard, I would dedicate in building a small/medium shed with bookcases along the side where you can store all your books/magazines/folders. (Assuming your parents don't mind building a shrine for your book related items) (Also, it would cost money but considering how much stuff you have - I wouldn't think so)
2. Public Storage Warehouses - You can always have the option of renting out a public storehouse where you can pack up either your empty boxes or book related things into large containers/boxes. (This is a bit expensive and a hassle to make the trip)
3. Sell a few items you don't need anymore. (It is hard to let go things you work so hard for however, it would guarantee you extra income)
4. Clean up your garage where the empty boxes are and your room and place objects nicely. This would guarantee you several square feet of extra space. (Turn on that KPOP and start cleaning)
5. In Img ID#241585 - You can always remove that table if you don't have the use for it and have 2 bookshelves from IKEA back-to-back to store more of your belongings.
Anyways, Good Luck! I just started collecting GUNPLA/FIGURINES 2 months ago due to my friend. Already spent nearly $2000.00 on all the Black Rock Shooter figurines and several other kawaii figures ^^. I am heading down your path - My closet is already full and I am working towards your situation one day. Give me several years give or take lols.
***Also, it would cost money but considering how much stuff you have I wouldn't think of it as a problem. (Wasn't thinking when I wrote this) lol
I think I'll try to sell some of my stuff (which I have trying to in the classified section.. sort of.). It's hard to sell old magazines too but they take up the major portion of my problems... Let's see if I can find more stuff to sell for now :D
Really appreciated your options, too bad only the third one would really work since I don't want to pay mroe for public storage and I don't want to add more stuff to my parents' house.. ^__^;
So many Kuroshitsuji stuff <3333333
Hehe, I'm a fan of Ciel!
You should put smaller boxes inside bigger boxes. That will make less of a cluster. ^^
Unfortunately, the bigger boxes are all filled inside already too! >__<
I can empathize somewhat with your situation. I collected lots of magazines, such as Newtype and Famitsu, the earliest of which dated back to the early 1990s. They just kept piling up. Eventually, I threw them away. It was difficult, since all were in great condition. However, I told myself I'm not reading them anymore anyway. It's tempting to say "Well, I'll read them again someday" but let's be honest, that was not happening.
Perhaps this overabundance of stuff in your room is a sympton of a bigger problem and you need to look within yourself why you've been hoarding all these stuff. The solution to all these stuff piling is obvious, but it'll be meaningless if you are unable to let go. Some people collect material items to fill an emptiness in their lives. Some people find it difficult to control their buying behavior.
Oh, that sounds just like me! I'm an artist, so I always say "Look at all this GREAT reference I'll be throwing away!" But honestly, I don't think I ever get back to them. :(
I think I have both emptiness and difficulty to control my buying behavior, heh. I hope I'll be throwing away more stuff soon and/or selling them. How did you end up getting rid of all your magazines? Recycle? Burn? Donate? Garage Sale?
I wouldn't mind snagging some of those magazines, haha. :)
In truth, I had/have had very much the same problem with you! I've gotten much better at throwing away unneeded stuff.. and selling off figures/manga/dvds i'm not really a big fan of anymore. It was hard, but in the end I was proud of myself for doing it. :)
You can get rid of these if they're empty.
As some of the other users have said, it'd be good if I can sell some of my stuff so I'm planning on shipping my stuff in those cardboard boxes. :]
You dont need 6 of the same boxes. You have double boxes of the Yamato, Kodomo no jikan, Final Fantasy, Tales of Vesperto, and Haruhi. Keep only one box of the doubles and throw away the rest. One should be good enough for memory.
When I sell my stuff, a lot of people usually ask for the boxes and if you've seen my figure collection.. I do have a bad habit of keeping all my boxes. Boy oh boy. D:
is this a pinky street?
if u gather the strength to sell them, i would sooo buy those *___*
i know it's hard to part but once u get the money it feels better xD especially since u dont usually have this figures in ur house... ur separated with them already!
maybe ask Danny Choo how he organizes all his otaku stuff.
Hoarders - the anime otaku edition
Every advice on the topic you've probably heard 10 times over... There's no easy way to say it, you gotta start getting rid of stuff! Just do it!
Hold random blog contests and give-aways, post on eBay and Amazon and just piece by piece clear it out
Tii who are fantastic in the morning sun
it would totally be a pain in the ass to fix all of yer stuff if you do...
...but for me, in a weird way, it's a nice and flashy room :D
I surgest that you keep the boxes for the more expensive figure and get rid of gashapon boxes and that you sort out your room in sections or do it in small parts that way it dosent make the job feel as big ^^
this reminds me of GhostBusters... lol
Rent a storage unit? or sell what you dont need/want and buy some new stuff :P
That is an awful lot of loot though, it looks like its just...well everywhere lol
So any updates on how things are going?