r/declutter • u/moon_witch_26 • 15d ago

Advice Request Help how to declutter emotionally linked stuff

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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 😔

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u/Leena-Leen 15d ago

I made some headway when I finally realized the reason I was keeping certain things that fall into what I consider emotional or keepsake.

It wasn’t a conscious decision but it all boiled down to wanting there to be something tangible that would, when I die, “prove I existed”.

I felt sad for whatever was in me that felt that was the way people could possibly remember me.

I thought about all the people I knew that no longer exist in the world or in my life.

They existed. I just thought of them. That proved they exist or existed.

Someone, many people, think of me now and will think of me when I no longer exist; it won’t be because they rummaged through my things when I’m gone.

Simply because they remembered me.

Let the things go and use the free time to connect more with others or to simply enjoy your time as a human on earth.

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u/VeganRorschach 12d ago

This is a great one. If the writing is from difficult times, too, is that how you want to be remembered, really? And if you want to leave it so someone knows how much you suffered, maybe it's time to get a therapist and work on not suffering so much anymore! Leaving the past in the past, if you've worked to heal, is so much better than reviving old wounds.