So am I a pack rat or just a gatherer? Mankind went through the evolutionary period of hunter/gatherer about 750,000 to 300,000 years ago. Does that mean I'm an evolutionary throwback because I do not exchange things? I gather ... and gather ... and gather. When my garage gets so full I can no longer walk through it, I toss stuff out. I don't replace, I just toss. Actually, that hasn't happened in many years. I always find a way to move this stack over there and that stack a bit farther back so I can get through. Occasionally I'll restack things so I can add one or two more boxes on the top.
I have often wondered if there is a correlation between neatness as a child and pack rat behavior as an adult. In my opinion there is not. Okay, if you're a psychologist or behavioral analyst don't bother writing to argue with me because I really don't care! I was a slob as a kid: I'm a gatherer now. In between I was a Marine and did not have the option of either stockpiling things or being a slob and I did quite well at being neat.
My friend Dave was a slob as a kid (I talked to his mother) and is a total neat-freak today. Another friend, Bob, was brought up in a tightly structured Catholic family where nothing could ever be out of place. He is, today, not a slob, but he does gather and store neatly.
In her article, Helping a Pack Rat Get Organized, Maria Gracia said one method was to make a someday box. My problem is that every box in my garage is just such a thing. She also suggested a fix it or ditch it system. Cool for you, but all (okay, most) of the stuff in my garage is already working - or could be.
I have finally found a method that works - for me. I have three levels of shelves. I put boxes on the lowest shelf and mark the date on them. Any time I open one of them, whether it's to take out something or just to peek and see what's in there, I mark a new date on it and move it back to the next lower shelf. Whenever I get around to sorting, I check the dates and if I haven't opened a box in six months, I move it to the next higher shelf. When a box sits on the top shelf unopened for one year, I toss it without even opening it. If I looked inside, I'd probably relent and keep it. As a result of my new system I have managed to get rid of seven boxes in the past two years.
I know that doesn't sound like many until you consider that until I started this system, I hadn't thrown away a single box of stuff in nearly ten years. I am making progress.
