Anyone ever wish their house would just burn down.

[MotherWhimsey]

When I look around my house the only thing I would be very upset to loose is our picture collection of dd. So if the house burned down to the ground and I could get that out I'd be annoyed at the inconvienince but otherwise fine. So why can't I get rid of all this stuff I obviously have no attachment to? My house is pretty "simple" compared to most people's I guess, cause I love to pare down on stuff all the time. But the more I get rid of, the more I want to get rid of. Is that normal? I don't think our house looks bare, but my mom sometimes is surprised at it... all I see is the cluttered desk and the dusty entertainment center. I wish I could just call a dump truck and chuck it all! I guess when we ever move I will just not move too much to the new place, but I have no idea when we would move, two years or more maybe.
Sorry, just needed to vent.

[aprons_and_acorns]

I know that it is a terrible thing to say, but my sister and I were just talking about this last night. We both thought it was the guilt part of decluttering that was the reason for the burning down fantasy. There would be no guilt about getting rid of things, no possibility for anyone to regret something that you gave away, or to get angry with you. Just a fresh start.

Please don't flame me! I wouldn't wish a house fire on myself or anyone else. I just feel so overwhelmed sometimes. MotherWhimsey I could have written your post!

[broodymama]

I've often thought the same thing myself. : We recently moved cross country and part of me hoped that the household goods wouldn't make it. We had the sentimental stuff with us (pictures, etc.). I briefly fantasized about just getting new stuff, just the basics, with the insurance money.

Instead, it's been 3 months and there are STILL boxes of stuff (stuff stuff everywhere!) that haven't been unpacked and I don't know where to put it.

[Wolfmeis]

When I still lived in Charleston, this was a pretty common fantasy. Of course, for us it wasn't fire, it was hurricane.

Every hurricane season, part of the emergency kit was the box or three that you take to the car. When we were done getting out everything we couldn't live without, it was a car load if that. I still didn't want to part with antique family furniture, my China and that sort of stuff, but it was very clear what I could live WITHOUT.

Since then we've moved across country. We got rid of a lot of stuff before the move, and steadily since then.

It amazes me what people used to live without.... and we're all so bogged down by it all.

[Spock]

MotherWhimsey, I feel exactly the same way you do. I think about how I would feel if I lost it all and I also think the only things I would truly miss are the photos. When I'm decluttering now I try to ask myself if I would really miss whatever thing I'm holding onto if the house burned down. Much of the time I conclude that I wouldn't even REMEMBER a lot of the items, much less miss them. It's helping me to be a little more ruthless about the decluttering.

[our3boys]

I can't tell you how many times I almost posted this! I keep thinking about what I would replace if everything burned. And then I should get rid of the rest. I just can't seem to get that done, though.

We recently had an electrical fire (the timer for the outside lights burned). It stayed in the box, though. I kind of wished it had spread b/c we also want to remodel our kitchen. I am so overwhelmed with little piles everywhere I can hardly clean anymore b/c I spend all my time moving piles first. I really prefer a bare look since you can clean in one swipe.

[trmpetplaya]

yes :

love and peace.

[becca011906]

Oh my dh says this all the time, usally when the water freezes up or it's drafty in here or when the house is a cluttered mess b/c i took the day off and played all day with the kids (once in a million years) we live in a trailor and dh HATES it with a passion but we do OWN it (making payments that is) and what he hated even more was throwing our money away on rent before we were married. I just pray every night that one day our income will be enough to build a home on our land (owned free and clear) that the trailor sits on. Oh one day hopefully before my kids are all grown i don't want them to have to grow up in a trailor thier whole lives.... ok enough complaining

[kimmie-pooh]

I used to wish this about one of our cars.

[Past_VNE]

I had never even thought this. Then it happened....sorta.

We were living two doors down from my grandparents, the people who raised me. We were renting a furnished house. All we had in it were our clothes, computers, books and photographs. Everything else, our family antiques, my appliances, including my beloved 1945 gas Chambers kitchen range, our skis, motorcycle gear, childhood toys, etc., etc., etc. were stored in my grandparents garage.

Now, calling it a garage is a bit of a misnomer. This building, well...it was huge. Room for four cars, plus a morgue, a greenhouse, and two rooms for storage....one was about 30x15, the other 20x45. HUGE!!!!!!! The property has been my family's forever, it seems. It was originally a carriage house, then it was my great-grandfather's repair center and store for appliances, then my grandfather added the morgue when he became an undertaker. So, anyway, after 80-odd years of squirreling away family treasures and random junk, this place was packed full.

In the spring, a ten year old kid bragged at school that he was going to set things on fire. Nobody did anything. We only learned it after the fact. Right around the time all the kids were walking home, the little (#*$#(*# set the back of the garage on fire, all for the sheer joy of it.

It basically burnt to the ground.

After inventory-ing everything imaginable, from remnants or memory, we had an Excel spreadsheet longer than Santa's list. It was nuts. Eventually, we got a check from the insurance company for the DEPRECIATED AMOUNT only.

Well, guess what? It was sad, it was very very bad. That building was more important to my grandfather than his house. He spent every waking moment out there. It was his haven away from my wonderful, but oft-miserable grandmother.

But, now, he has a really great new building, built well and with all the gadgets that he can use, and none of the crap he doesn't need.

Personally, we made out like bandits. We paid off our debt. We bought a new (used) W/D, new (used) skis and gear, and replaced a few other things that were actually important.

But, we learned a BIG, BIG lesson. We are still in the process of downsizing the things we have left. No woman needs over 100 pairs of shoes. : I'm down around 20 pairs now and still am unloading. The clothes I don't wear? GO! The random kitchen accessories? GO! The books I won't read again? GO! The cheap toys we're given? GO! If we don't LOVE it and USE it, it goes. We have a couple of random knick-knacks, maybe ten total. They were my now-passed FIL's and greatgrandmother's.

We are much happier for it and it was an immense lesson for us. A very unfortunate event with many great side effects.

(Oh...and kimmie, we used to wish a couple of our cars were burn or be stolen. It would have been a blessing.)

[IamCoupongirl]

Well, I don't REALLY want my house to burn down, but i do wish all our unimportant crap and boxes of junk would miraculously disappear without having to wrest each item from my hubby's clenched hands. Heh.

[2GR8KIDS]

I once left my car behind when I was forced to evacuate during a wildfire, hoping it would burn. All that happened was that my tires blew out the next time I drove it. I ended up having to invest more $$$ in that crappy car and driving it for 6 more years!