Hoarding

We laugh at, and are fascinated by, those unfortunates portrayed on reality TV shows like A&E’s Hoarders. People who, for whatever reason, sane or insane, normal or not, cannot stop collecting “stuff” and who desire their 15 minutes of fame attract a surprisingly large audience. Why people hoard is the subject of many a PhD dissertation in social studies I expect, but the truth is, there’s a lot of the hoarder in many of us: Exhibit A, yer Honour – my garage. 

So we all collect stuff, some potentially useful, some not, some for merely sentimental reasons. It sits, unused, for months or years, taking up space, collecting dust, until your own reality kicks in and you decide it’s finally time to kick it to the curb (or kerb for my UK readers).

But what if it’s not physical items of some sort being collected, but ideas, more specifically ideas for future projects that one wants to undertake “some day”?

If, having seen my garage, you think that’s cluttered then you’d best not enter the future projects box in my mind without a guide. There you’ll find half-baked ideas for a home-made Stirling engine living happily alongside imaginings for silly works to accompany my bicycle in a tree or musings on major home renovations. Hare-brained schemes co-occupy space with solid plans simply awaiting time and resources. Ideas that will never see the light if I live to be 100 and win the lottery elbow for room with imminent projects working their way up the honey-do list. They all demand the same amount of air so to speak and, even if it’s something that would be fun to do, every single item adds to the burden of stress we lug around each and every waking hour.

So what does it take before you kick a project idea to the curb? How do you – finally – say enough is enough, I will NEVER, EVER get to this, stop thinking about it (and, for heaven’s sake, stop collecting parts for it)? I guess I’d best try and figure that out.