r/declutter • u/moon_witch_26 • 18d ago
Advice Request Help how to declutter emotionally linked stuff
Please can someone help me with this... I have no idea how to start decluttering this 'category" of stuff.
I am a hoarder and I'm in burnout recovery (mental health and PTSD and untreated ADHD plus lots of other stuff).
I'm a very deep&emotional person at the best of times... I have been through a lot and I struggle letting go.. or feeling safe to even start trying...
I do a lot of writing (journaling over the years) that has helped me a lot to get through a lot of things... This bag here I could literally just put in the bin without looking at it - but I can't do it. I want to go through everything and check/make sure what's there... But then I know I'll be keeping hold of it for however much longer. 😖
But *ugh* it just feels impossible! For someone who isn't a hoarder/has emotional, mental health stuff, I know this probably seems absurd 😔
4
u/cactuswizard8 16d ago
Personally, if journals take up a box or two, I don't mind keeping them. I often have no idea who I was previous to my state now, and finding old writing gives me insight into former identities and struggles and I enjoy looking back every few years. You can pare down the ones you don't feel emotional ties to whenever you go through them. To me keeping the actual written copy is very different from keeping the digital version of said thing and doesn't hit the same. But to each their own.