"Clutter steals away our time and saps our energy. It takes time and energy to keep it, to take care of it, to find things we need buried under it. Clutter makes it hard to relax. It screams for attention, like a cranky child who has been dragged around on errands all day."
~Susan K. Rowland, Make Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter

This book screamed at me from my favorite shelf at the bookstore during my last visit. I wasn't thinking about my cluttered storage situation at the time, but the book reminded me about it, and in an important way. It's true. I can relate to what the author has gone through. Well, not exactly. Hers was an "advanced" case of clutter, yet I completely understand the feelings of frustration she experienced. My home and especially my storage room are way overdue for some re-evaluation.

Although my collection can't compete with one square yard of Sansweet's ranch, I do have too much stuff to keep up with and enjoy. I mean, until last weekend I hadn't opened one measly box of toys since I moved here in 2004. And not only do I neglect my collection, but I use simple, boring boxes to store them in. That's no fun. Not that I want to dedicate a whole room to my collection. I think that would be an even worse situation for me -- all that dusting and rearranging. Yikes. I did that once, and it got old pretty quick. So what to do? Rowland suggests to keep things that are important to us, but remember the cost. This sounds good to me. The last thing I want to do is haul load after load of stuff I never use into yet another moving van.

I am thinking that clear storage bins could be an idea. Before filling them with my collection, I could decide what I really like and sell the rest on eBay, and throw away some of those useless items, such as Queen Amidala KFC sacks. But sometimes, even the thought of losing small memories like that are tough. She wrote a chapter on this very thing, which is awesome: Clearing Out the Clutter: The Grief and the Glory. Another good point. We can't take this "junk" with us; it's a pain to open that storage room door. It has to be so much easier to have that load lifted, and I am eager to start the ball rolling.

After thinking about it for a while, I reckon my Insider magazines, Star Wars-related books and vintage card collection give me the most enjoyment. They will not make me rich, apart from enjoying our beloved saga in my own way. Those are things I have near me all the time and that get me excited about that GFFA. Now I guess I just need to get rid of everything else in my house that does not do it credit or that I can't live without, and organize it all. I've been looking for inspiration online. I found a decent magazine binder that I will probably buy. I also need to get the perfect bookshelf for my books and card collection. Yeah, I think this could work. I'm looking forward to a de-cluttered and peaceful environment.