Almost 3 months in and I want to get rid of everything.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Seymour, CT
Posts: 132
Almost 3 months in and I want to get rid of everything.
Morning all - I hope everyone had a great weekend. I got a mani/pedi on Saturday followed by an awesome hour of DDP Yoga with my BF and then chilled by the fire at my in-laws for a few hours. Sunday we went to a gender reveal, did the grocery shopping, came home to prep 10 lunches for the week, and had dinner.
Has anyone gotten a few months into their sobriety and gone through a major cleaning out phase? I can't throw enough away right now. I want to go through every crevice of my condo and get rid of unused/unwanted things. I'm sending away a few things from my closet that still has tags on it that I'll just never wear in hopes to make a buck or two. I gave away a 5 disc DVD changer and VR goggles to a friend last night. I just have no need for clutter in my life. All the books I'm never going to read again, all the DVD's I'm never going to watch again.. I've got a couple of items up on Let Go right now and I continue to add more items. On top of wanting to get rid of things I've been majorly into organization. I can't get enough of it.
I have a full week of workouts planned. Today is Energy, tomorrow is a live hour long workout on the DDP app, Wednesday is Energy, Thursday is off, and Friday is Fat Burner. Saturday we're helping a friend move, so that'll be a very physically packed day.
All things are going well and I continue to be grateful of this community.
<3
Has anyone gotten a few months into their sobriety and gone through a major cleaning out phase? I can't throw enough away right now. I want to go through every crevice of my condo and get rid of unused/unwanted things. I'm sending away a few things from my closet that still has tags on it that I'll just never wear in hopes to make a buck or two. I gave away a 5 disc DVD changer and VR goggles to a friend last night. I just have no need for clutter in my life. All the books I'm never going to read again, all the DVD's I'm never going to watch again.. I've got a couple of items up on Let Go right now and I continue to add more items. On top of wanting to get rid of things I've been majorly into organization. I can't get enough of it.
I have a full week of workouts planned. Today is Energy, tomorrow is a live hour long workout on the DDP app, Wednesday is Energy, Thursday is off, and Friday is Fat Burner. Saturday we're helping a friend move, so that'll be a very physically packed day.
All things are going well and I continue to be grateful of this community.
<3
Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,777
I go through these phases. I do not like to have a lot of "stuff". It serves no purpose for me. I gifted a TV, chair and table recently. No need to sell. Just get it out of here so I can breathe.
I think your newfound energy and structure is putting you on a wonderfully productive path. Great work!
I think your newfound energy and structure is putting you on a wonderfully productive path. Great work!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Wareham, Mass
Posts: 7,067
Go, you!
I think that one effect of alcohol is that it stops us from being productive.
We're tired, we're hungover, we're obsessing about the next drink.
We get stuck in an alcohol fueled rut.
When we stop, its as if the blinders have come off.
I don't know about you, but I used to make some unfortunate purchases when I was drinking.
Two fur coats that I wore very little--mostly on trips to Europe where fur is not so reviled.
I did donate a third one to coats for cubs, a non profit that use the coats to make beds and dens for orphaned wildlife.
I should donate the other two.
Forget selling them. They are dated looking.
Anyway, have fun cleaning out, Nikka.
It's very satisfying.
I think that one effect of alcohol is that it stops us from being productive.
We're tired, we're hungover, we're obsessing about the next drink.
We get stuck in an alcohol fueled rut.
When we stop, its as if the blinders have come off.
I don't know about you, but I used to make some unfortunate purchases when I was drinking.
Two fur coats that I wore very little--mostly on trips to Europe where fur is not so reviled.
I did donate a third one to coats for cubs, a non profit that use the coats to make beds and dens for orphaned wildlife.
I should donate the other two.
Forget selling them. They are dated looking.
Anyway, have fun cleaning out, Nikka.
It's very satisfying.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,447
Nikki, I'm not sure if it's related to recovery, but I became a sort of minimalist a long time ago. It's absolutely freeing and refreshing and it makes taking care of the house a breeze. It sounds like you have a great plan for your week!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 236
I too did this shortly after getting sober. I got so far in cleaning my house and my garage practically sparkles! I just spent the last hour drinking tea, posting and trying to figure out what I should do today. Thanks to your post I think I will clean out the bookshelf. :-)
under new management
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 2,339
Purging "stuff" is great on so many levels!
I have a tendency to hoard certain items, I tend to over shop and I am prone to attaching emotionally to items (friend gives me some random item, she totally forgets about it, meanwhile I have practically built a shrine around it
)
Oh my!
Yes, purging is the best!
I have a tendency to hoard certain items, I tend to over shop and I am prone to attaching emotionally to items (friend gives me some random item, she totally forgets about it, meanwhile I have practically built a shrine around it
)Oh my!
Yes, purging is the best!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 403
Not really, but I'm a constant purger and I keep things to a minimum at all times, including clothes (and I know that's hard for a lot of women to do).
I did, however, purge things that were directly related to drinking or reminded me of my long runs of drunkeness. For example, the sheets were the first thing to go (I read this here). I had thrown up on them a lot when I couldn't make it to the bathroom. Lots of shirts were stuffed under the bed that I'd throw up into (quickly learned that clothes muffle the sound of throwing up). Some were really cute, actually.
When I got back to my other house (the one I'd been rushed to the hospital from), I actually got rid of all the dishes and cups. I associated all of that with being violently ill and barely making food for my child. I wasn't eating, but those dishes had been in my life for 1.5 years. Gone. I did get rid of some blankets that brought back associations. I even moved (as I said, we have multiple residences). The place from which I moved was the one where I spent my most drunken year, only highly functioning at work.
I got rid of underwear, most clothing, etc. Again, almost everything I got rid of was directly related to boozing or using it while I was boozing. It didn't really feel good or bad. Moving felt good because I had so many bad associations with night after night of drunkeness.
geez-every time the movers picked up stuff, they'd find bottles of the cheap stuff.
I did, however, purge things that were directly related to drinking or reminded me of my long runs of drunkeness. For example, the sheets were the first thing to go (I read this here). I had thrown up on them a lot when I couldn't make it to the bathroom. Lots of shirts were stuffed under the bed that I'd throw up into (quickly learned that clothes muffle the sound of throwing up). Some were really cute, actually.
When I got back to my other house (the one I'd been rushed to the hospital from), I actually got rid of all the dishes and cups. I associated all of that with being violently ill and barely making food for my child. I wasn't eating, but those dishes had been in my life for 1.5 years. Gone. I did get rid of some blankets that brought back associations. I even moved (as I said, we have multiple residences). The place from which I moved was the one where I spent my most drunken year, only highly functioning at work.
I got rid of underwear, most clothing, etc. Again, almost everything I got rid of was directly related to boozing or using it while I was boozing. It didn't really feel good or bad. Moving felt good because I had so many bad associations with night after night of drunkeness.
geez-every time the movers picked up stuff, they'd find bottles of the cheap stuff.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Planet Earth (most days)
Posts: 1,596
I'm at 90 days, Nikki, and I'm slowing starting to organize/purge items and paperwork that have been piling up around my home. For me it's cathartic, a moving forward of sorts. I definitely couldn't do that when I was drinking. I almost feel that by not having all of this clutter in my way I can make room for other wonderful things (not necessarily material) to come into my life.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,950
I need to do this in August, I have a three week break between semesters, and then one more semester and then I have to gtfo my parents house. So I don't want to have a lot of stuff.
It is therapeutic. Do you find a lot of crap that reminds you of the old you? Like I found a pool ball once that I had stolen from a bar while exceedingly inebriated. That got pitched. A keepsake keychain from a bar in Ocean City where I got alcohol poisoning. Bye Felicia.
It is therapeutic. Do you find a lot of crap that reminds you of the old you? Like I found a pool ball once that I had stolen from a bar while exceedingly inebriated. That got pitched. A keepsake keychain from a bar in Ocean City where I got alcohol poisoning. Bye Felicia.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 292
Yep, Nikkabean!
I HATE clutter to begin with, but in my drinking days, both my ambition and my judgment were sufficiently impaired that I made many poor choices vis-à-vis personal organization and tidiness. Example: It's a Sunday and I need clean clothes for work this week, but too drunk/hungover to do laundry. No problem... Go to the mall (likely drunk, mind you) and buy a bunch of new shirts, a few pairs of slacks, a pack of underwear and a pack of socks...Tada! Set for the week, and now I can keep drinking instead of doing laundry. The hits keep coming as I also end up spending many hundred of dollars I didn't need to spend. Pathetic, particularly since, when sober, shopping for clothes is an activity I loathe even more than doing laundry. The end result is that I eventually accumulated enough clothes for a small army. I take some solace in that my eventual donation of them, or the proceeds from their sale, have probably benefitted some needy people.
I HATE clutter to begin with, but in my drinking days, both my ambition and my judgment were sufficiently impaired that I made many poor choices vis-à-vis personal organization and tidiness. Example: It's a Sunday and I need clean clothes for work this week, but too drunk/hungover to do laundry. No problem... Go to the mall (likely drunk, mind you) and buy a bunch of new shirts, a few pairs of slacks, a pack of underwear and a pack of socks...Tada! Set for the week, and now I can keep drinking instead of doing laundry. The hits keep coming as I also end up spending many hundred of dollars I didn't need to spend. Pathetic, particularly since, when sober, shopping for clothes is an activity I loathe even more than doing laundry. The end result is that I eventually accumulated enough clothes for a small army. I take some solace in that my eventual donation of them, or the proceeds from their sale, have probably benefitted some needy people.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 390
I'm kind of a slob, but I cleaned my place during my last stint of sobriety. I fell off of the wagon on the 4th, but maintaining a clean house is keeping me thinking about sobriety, and proper nutrition. I'm drinking less, and taking today off. I haven't really had a hangover since I cleaned my place, and adding structure. It's probably a good time for me to quit. Entropy is creeping back.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
In my case it's not because of sobriety; I'll be moving for work soon and am dreading moving all my crap!
Part of wants to just give it all away and buy what I need when I get there but realistically it would be tens of thousands of bucks. Things don't make us happy but "stuff" has a way of accumulating.
Part of wants to just give it all away and buy what I need when I get there but realistically it would be tens of thousands of bucks. Things don't make us happy but "stuff" has a way of accumulating.
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