My December Resolution: stop hoarding what you don’t need

Noooooo! Not December already! All across the world, people are saying the same thing as I am – Christmas is on the way, and my house looks like a scene from Hoarding. How on earth will I get it clear in time for Christmas? Where on earth is it all going to go?

Well, this year, I’ve decided the answer is not “upstairs in the spare room with the door shut and let’s hope no one needs to stay the night.” The answer is, ‘OUT’.

We simply have too much stuff. It’s shocking in a world where so many people have so little, that we own so much more than we could ever need or will ever use.

And we’re not even rich.

We’re not really hoarders: we’re just people who’ve spent 15 years selling second-hand stuff. So of course, for the last fifteen years, when anyone we knew had a clear-out, they gave us mounds of stuff to sell. And of course, we’ve always said, ‘Ooh, yes, thanks!’

Which is why we have more items than I could ever hope to list on Ebay during the rest of my life. And every time I try to sort them out, I have to stop selling – and stop earning – to do it.

But now it’s time for us to pass that stuff on to people who can actually use it. I’ve already taken one car-load to the charity shop, and the second is loaded to take tomorrow.

I’m making my New Year resolution a month early this year – I will only keep what I need and want.