Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome

Where do you start?

Most of the time, it’s with one pile, one closet, or one box at a time. It entered your home that way; it can leave that way.

Really, it’d be easier to send it all to the local dump, but your emotions won’t allow you to make such a bold move. It’s almost like the real-world example of the Stockholm syndrome. You’re held captive. Suffocating. But you also have an attachment to your captor. It’s a mess, but it’s your mess. It feels safe.

It is a type of hostage negotiation, but essentially, you’re negotiating with yourself. Keep. Toss. Purge. Have someone help you if you can’t talk yourself down. And if negotiations fail, you’ll have to be ruthless. No matter how it feels, this stuff is not your friend.

The purge will be painful. It will feel impossible.

But it has to be done.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

—household proverb