I've been holding on to literal trash (technically recycling) so I can take a picture of it, post it here, and talk about it. It's been on my nightstand for weeks (to be honest, months) and every time I notice it I have the same dialogue with myself

"let me just recycle that."

"but don't you want to track that? You'll have to take a picture, and post"

"yeah I do, but not at this very moment"

"well, I guess it's just going to stay there until you do."

I've lost the plot a little. The point is things I struggle to get rid of due to sentimentality, or thinking I need it, or not realizing, I already have enough. I don't need to track every little thing I get rid of. It's for like, when shoes I've grown attached to have been worn out, and I want to remember them, but I don't want them taking up my space anymore.

Item 10 Part 2

To keep things organized, I've decided to group picture books together, and here's a Muppet picture book!

This Muppets picture book, dating back to 1991, piqued my interest when I stumbled upon it while dropping off books at a Free Little Library. Given its vintage charm and my love for the Muppets, I decided to borrow it for a little while and explore its contents.

Upon reading, I found it to be an innocuous, mildly boring picture book featuring several stories involving The Muppets, Muppet Babies, and Fraggle Rock. While it was cute, I wouldn't rush to recommend it to others. The plan is to return it to the Free Little Library during my next walk.

Verdict: This encounter doesn't fall into the fail category. It cost me nothing, provided a brief Muppet-themed escape, and will soon find its way back to the Free Little Library, fulfilling its intended purpose. I'm content knowing it's being used and shared with others. I will admit, there is a part of me that wants to hold on to the picture book, and make collages with the illustrations, but I absolutely don't need to do that, and I hope someone else will find and enjoy it for awhile.

Item #41

Games

I love my local Buy Nothing group and utilize it both to give away and acquire items. Recently, a serendipitous encounter unfolded. In a conversation with a friend, we expressed a desire for an older version of Trivial Pursuit, specifically one filled with questions about 80s SNL or U.S.S.R.'s geography, things like that.

Coincidentally, a few days later, someone on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group offered an old Trivial Pursuit! What luck! I had the chance to acquire it for free. However, there was a twist—it came bundled with The Walking Dead Trivia Box. Since many Buy Nothing listings require taking the entire offering, I decided it was worth it for the Trivial Pursuit, even though I have no interest in the Trivia Box. I couldn't think of any local friends that would be interested either. So now it's just been taking up space on this tiny shelf, and I'd like to get rid of it.

Verdict: Despite my lack of interest in The Walking Dead Trivia Box, I don't consider this acquisition a fail. I got something I genuinely wanted for free, and now the only challenge is finding space for the unwanted game that came with it, and was also free. The next decision is whether to donate it somewhere or try my luck by reposting it on the Buy Nothing group.

Item #40

On the left is Leaps & Bounds Playful by Nature Thrill & Chase Fish Teaser Cat Toy from Petco for $7.99 and on the right is my cat Percy who is priceless. While he generally loves teaser/wand toys like this, he couldn't be bothered with this particular one. I don't know what to tell you. Cats will be cats.

Percy usually gets bored with his teaser wand toys after a while, so I regularly cycle through them, taking old favorites out of the closet after a few months so Percy gets excited about them again. Teaser/Wand toys remain his favorite way to exercise and play, but for some reason, he simply doesn't engage when I bring this specific one out. I've had it for a few years, and it's even accompanied me during a move, but Percy remains uninterested. Despite spending almost $8.00 on it, my intentions were pure—I thought Percy would enjoy the textures. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I've decided to pass it on to my friend. We occasionally swap cat toys to provide further enrichment for our indoor cats with new scents, so at least it may have a second life.

Verdict: While $8.00 may seem a bit steep for this type toy, especially given that Percy's top two teaser toys are from Five Below, it doesn't carry the same sting as the earrings that were equally priced. After all, it was intended to enrich my cat's playtime, and I had no way of foreseeing his disinterest. I'll still mark it as a fail, but there's no need to dwell on it, especially since it's finding a new home with a friend.

Item #39

Cheap earrings. :<

This turned out to be a letdown. These are the Door Knocker Drop Earrings by Universal Thread from Target. I was influenced by my friend who is always wearing fun, quirky earrings. She wasn't there or anything, but lately I've been thinking "I want to be a fun earring girlie too." My gut was advising me to stick with local vendors from festival booths and shops for a curated, unique collection. However, when I spotted these at Target for $7.99, I thought, "why not"? Unfortunately, they only lasted one wear before one of them broke I'm thoroughly annoyed. Despite feeling flimsy during my store examination, I didn't heed my gut feeling.

Moreover, I seriously need to kick the habit of buying things on a whim, especially when I'm not supporting individual or local artists and vendors. The truth is, I don't need more stuff, and I want to be more deliberate with my purchases. However, in those fleeting moments, like when I'm in the middle of buying cat food and spot something cute, I forget and just go for it.

Verdict: Total fail. These earrings weren't that expensive, but they broke after minimal wear. At $7.99, which is cheaper than many earrings from local vendors, I still catch myself saying, post-purchase, "I'd rather have the $8.00."

Item #25, part 3

More Makeup

This is the Colourpop lipliner pencil in Whatchamacallit.

Decluttering this lipliner was an easy choice (I mean, it's slate blue and i am not the girl) but delving into the history of this purchase made almost four years ago sent me on a bit of a spiral. As I revisited the confirmation email from my online ColourPop order, I was in disbelief. Why on earth did I order a box of 40 lip liner pencils for $79? The realization hit hard – what possessed me to think I needed that many? While I've made a dent in the collection, a substantial number still lingers. Admittedly, the remaining ones are technically past their expiration, yet parting with them remains a challenge.

Individually, this lipliner would have cost $5.00, (they have since been repackaged, and it may be a new formula. I don't know for sure, I don't keep track anymore. Regardless, their lip liners now sell for $7.00) Its value within the set stands at $1.98. Let's be clear—this isn't an attempt at creative "girl math" to salvage value from a questionable purchase. There's no conceivable universe where present-day me would justify acquiring 40 lipliners in one go, especially for $79.00, but regardless of the cost. If someone offered me 40 lipliners today, even for free, my response would be a simple "maybe I'll take two."

Verdict: This is a complete failure on my part. Reflecting on my past struggles with shopping and makeup addiction, it's disheartening to realize how much I spent on this and other makeup. Even though the one pencil is only worth $1.98, I still spent $79.00 for all of them. It would have made more sense to just buy one or two for $5.00. The real math is that would have saved me $69.00. Ugh, I'm so mad just thinking about it. I'm going to have to toss it. It's too old to give away.m

Item #38

Bar Tools

I occasionally feel like a broken record. I find myself in a perpetual cycle of cleaning and organizing, and today's revelation is my possession of three different jiggers. Considering my infrequent indulgence in drinks, especially cocktails, the need for three is ridiculous. As depicted, I'm decluttering two.

The first, the gold-tone jigger on the right, was part of a bar tools set I bought either in 2015 or 2016 ago from a Total Wine store. I was drawn to it because I wanted a gold-toned bar set to complement my bar cart. However, buyer's remorse set in soon after the $40 purchase—a bit more than I intended to spend. Additionally, the material didn't stand the test of time; after a few handwashes, the products became discolored, losing the aesthetic appeal it initially had. The set comprised seven pieces, including a cocktail shaker, muddler, tongs, long spoon, strainer, peeler, and the jigger. Assuming equal value for each piece, we'll estimate the jigger's worth at $5.71.

The second, the OXO steel jigger on the left, was acquired during my time working at a kitchen store. Long, monotonous stretches at work fueled my susceptibility to impulsive desires. In this case, I convinced myself I needed this steel jigger, even though I already had one at home. Despite preferring the design of this one, it clashed with my bar cart and emphasized its unnecessary existence. Although I believe it cost less when I purchased it in 2021, it currently retails for $11.99.

I'm decluttering these two because I since acquired a bar set featuring a beautiful, handled jigger. It's not pictured here because I'm keeping it. While the story of acquiring it may delve into impulsive tendencies, I'm very happy with what I have, and I hope to keep them forever

Verdict: The two jiggers cost me approximately $17.70. Again, as with many things I’ve decluttered, that’s not a huge sum, but I’d rather have $17.70 than 2 extra jiggers. It’s indicative of a larger shopping and accumulation problem I have. Again, this serves as a reminder to be mindful of impulsive purchases and the unnecessary accumulation of stuff. You can see the gold-toned one is discolored. Part of me is reluctant to donate, but I think I will. I have a bin of things I'm going to drop off at the thrift store, and I can easily add both. The only silver lining is that none of these were purchased from amazon.

Edit to add: When working on another post of an item I got from the kitchen store, I realized I had forgotten I had an employee discount! It was 40% off, so the stainless steel would have cost less. Probably $7.19. So that means the cost for both was $12.90. That's less, but still wasteful.

Item #35

Duplicate book.

I've read this book (never saw the movie, and probably never will). I already own a beautiful first edition hardcover from McSweeney's. My feelings about the book? Well, it's okay. I still recall certain parts, (like the protagonist trying to remove his own skin tag on his back?) but it doesn't hold a special place in my heart. If the hardcover didn't look so stunning on my shelf, I'd part with that too.

Now, why do I have a duplicate? It's because this one is an advanced reader copy (ARC), snagged as a freebie from the bookstore I worked, presumably before the paperback release. I had already read the hardcover, so it's a bit of a puzzle why I took this one. I can't recall at all. I was a bigger Dave Eggers fan back then, so maybe I wanted to collect different editions, or perhaps I had some grand plans of gifting it to a friend.

Curiously, I just checked, and the paperback was released before I moved. I distinctly remember adding this to my collection after I moved. My guess is that the publisher sent these to bookstores ahead of the movie adaptation's release.

Or, I could be mistaken, and I obtained it before my first move. It's a mystery lost in the sands of time. But what's certain is that it's time for this duplicate to find a new home. I've decided to leave it in a nearby Free Little Library.

Verdict: This item came at no cost to me and has occupied space through several moves. I'm pleased to finally part ways with it and happy it's headed to a Free Little Library.

Item #22, part 4

Spice Rub

Whoops. I didn't need this. I purchased this when I used to work at the kitchen store. With my discount, it would have cost $8.97, which is still a lot. Also, I'm not really a fan of most spice mixes (except Herbs de Provence) I never understand why people buy them when you can just mix your own.

Regardless, I bought this with fantasies of preparing these beautiful sheet pan veggies. (I also discussed before how when bored at work, I would find things to want, even if I didn't need them. There's just something fun about wanting things.) I did end up trying it on some beautiful sheet pan veggies, but the mix wasn't memorable. I think I just didn't like it that much, but also didn't hate it. I ended up forgetting about it in the back of my spice shelf.

While trying to go through neglected pantry items, I thought, why not give it another go? Big mistake. Turns out, it's been well past its expiration for almost a year. Yikes! Now, I usually take herb/spice expiration dates with a grain of salt (heh), but I should have paid attention to this one – especially when it involves cheese cultures. What I didn't like about it a the first time was magnified this time. I can't place it, but again, I'd rather just use my own mix of herbs.

Verdict: Any of these decluttered purchases from the kitchen store will be a fail. I purchased some items that I still use regularly, but so much of it was a symptom of wanting to want something. It cost $8.97, but it was clearly an unnecessary purchased. I'm glad it's leaving more room spice drawer. I threw out the herbs, and recycled the tin. You KNOW part of me wanted to keep the tin, but I don't need it.

i changed my name

I've officially changed my blog's name to "excessexorcism". Let me explain why.

"Marginalhoarder" had its time and served its purpose effectively. It encapsulated my journey of decluttering and reflected the state of my life and mind. I chose it because I didn't consider myself an extreme hoarder, but I did grapple with sentimental attachments to things like bookmarks or well-worn sweaters. I needed a platform to sort my thoughts and potentially receive feedback. However, as time went on, I began to question whether it accurately represented my values and intentions.

The words "Marginal" and "Marginalized" may share a linguistic root, but they carry distinct meanings. Although no one expressed concerns about it, I started feeling increasingly uneasy. I am a white person, and I don't belong to a traditionally marginalized group. Continuing to use a name that might imply a connection to experiences and challenges I haven't personally faced felt disingenuous, especially when discussing abundance in my life.

I recognize just how fortunate I am to grapple with the "problem" of abundance, while so many others face entirely different, more pressing challenges. And while I'm content to part with items that need to move on, that could find better use elsewhere, or that merely clutter my life, it's also essential to clarify that I am not a minimalist. In fact, I think minimalism can be a scam. My aim is to create a more functional life for my cluttered brain, not to blindly follow minimalistic trends.

So, welcome to "excessexorcism." It's lighter, a little bit spooky and tells you that I'm here to exorcise the excess from my life, not to embrace minimalism, but simply to bid farewell to the clutter that's been weighing me down.