I was depressed about the clutter in this house.  There were too many books, VCRs and LPs and I did not know where to start.  I know we have made some headway but not enough.  I can’t just get rid of stuff:  I have to run it by my “other”.  I really do not know where to start.  I was down to begin with and when I look around at the clutter I just got more depressed.  The house is out of control.  I don’t know where to start or do this mutually.  I need someone to come in and aid us in this process.  We have had one room we call a junk room.  We want it to be a guest room but it feels like it will never be cleared.  I step in it and I just shake my head.  I just don’t know what to do any longer.

Our perennial fight about stuff.  In the garage is a Hammond organ.  It is there because I did not want it in the living room.  It does not work.  I doubt anyone wants it.  My wife thinks it is worth something.  I just want to trash it.

That is the fight my wife and I have over and over–about stuff.  It is hard to get rid of any books.  Unfortunately when you have too many books the really good ones get buried.

That does not make any difference.  She insists on keeping them.  So our book shelves are bulging.

I collect music.  My wife at some point discovered E Bay and bought lots of used LPs and CDs and now my music collection is out of control.

We have fight after fight about things–too many things in our house–a lot of things that are not being used.

Is that what all couples have–issues that will not go away and can’t be resolved no matter what?

Clothes are just like books.  If you have too many, you can’t find your favorite ones too easily for they are buried.  For example, I would rather have an hundred favorite books than another additional nine hundred that hide the other hundred.  In fact I did that with my office:  it has my favorite books in it.  Just a thought.

I do not know why it is so hard to let go of things.  I am no different.  There is always another book or CD.  I can never have enough.  Let us talk about books only.

We have too many in this house.  The bookcases are bursting from the seams.  There are also boxes of books all over the house.  And it is difficult for us to give away any one.

I want to give some away but a lot are not mine so I can’t make a decision unilaterally to part with those.  I have reasoned with my other stating when you have too many unfortunately the superb books all too easily get lost or buried.  The argument was futile.

Nothing has changed.  I am also part of the problem:  I keep bringing new ones in the house.  I must have given my wife this year an half a dozen books for Christmas gifts.  And my wife also gave me books for gifts.

I am at wits end.  Some book shelves are doubled up.  As many as I have if I can not find a particular book I go a little crazy although I am usually successful in finding the book although I might take me awhile.

A running joke is Bob Dylan’s autobiography.  I keep misplacing that book although I have looked high and low for it.  He is just plain elusive.  I might have to buy another copy.

I read in all positions–standing up lying down even walking.  The bathroom must have almost two dozen books on the shelves there.  I can’t miss any opportunity to read.

Someone is going to have a real job deciding what to do with our book collection.  We can’t take them with us when we go.