TA-DA!!

Shoot off the fireworks! Have the trumpets play the honkiest fanfare going! Call out the marching bands.

I cleaned out my basement.

No, that is not an anticlimax. It's major.

I dragged my cleaning lady into the catacombs and we pulled everything out of the one little room I am alloted in this apartment house. She swept out the dirt and cobwebs and washed off the shelves. Then I had to decide what stays and where do I stash it (so that I always see what I have at a glance).

I have definitely gotten more realistic about what I'll use and what will gather dust until doomsday. So out went the Winston Churchill books I thought I should read. Also the books that some teacher would love to have. And so on.

I stored things by category and only the categories I really use NOW. No Maybes. No "But I spent good money on that".  In Germany, we can put all our junk out on the curb and it is picked up by the waste department. More often that not, though, other people drive by and stop to pick up some "treasure".  I just think, "Better you store it than I!". 

No matter if you own or rent your place, you are paying per square foot/meter. When you can't really enjoy a room or put your expensive car in the garage because of clutter, you're throwing that portion of your money down the drain. If you rent storage space, you're wasting money and not solving the problem. You're making it worse. It's the biggest joke of all time because most people never ever use the stuff that is stored again. If you move to a bigger home because you need more space for stuff, you're throwing good money after bad.