junk mail.

i have a bit of a confession. i am a hoarder. and not in the "i buy dog food and dont even have a dog" kind of way... but in the "i may need/want this again" kind of way. i can not watch Hoarders on TV. it gives me an anxiety attack (which is another psychological disorder that i suffer from) just watching those people knowing that i have the same tendencies. on a much small scale, of course, but still. if it comes on TV i change the channel immediately. if someone else is watching it, i will leave the room. i can not and will not have anything to do with it.

i dont throw away cards. ever. even the stupid ones that random people give me and dont even write a thoughtful message in them. they are all stashed away in random closets, boxes, drawers, storage tubs, school bags, etc. in various houses might i add. (my mom HATES this).

every compartment in my wallet is busting at the zipper/clasp with receipts, notes i write myself, expired coupons that i knew id never use but thought about at one point, etc.

inside my extremely large purse is the following:

• wallet
• speeding ticket
• empty Tupperware
• makeup bag
• 3 pill bottles (2 of Tylenol)
• sunglasses
• party shades
• 3d glasses from the Lion King 3D
• 2 hotel room keys (no, im not on vacation anymore)
• contact solution
• valet tickets
• 2 envelopes
• 11 koozies. yes, eleven.
• trash (gum wrappers, hang tags from clothes, crumbled up paper, a wrapper from the cookie place at the mall, crumbes from said cookie, etc)

you'd think that at some point, id clean out this purse of mine. but no, i wont. and not because im a messy person, but because in the future i may need one of these things. and i dont want to be caught without it. what a shame that i begged for so long for this glorious Louis Vuitton, finally got it for Christmas, and now junk up. all because i hoard.

the biggest problem that comes from my hoarding is my stacks upon stacks of mail that pile up. it drives every roommate ive ever had insane. i get the mail, flip through it, open up what i need to open and stack it, along with the junk mail that i dont need to open/never will, in some random place usually in the kitchen. sometimes it ends up in the dining room or living room, but usually in the kitchen. i cant throw it out because i may need it. i may want to go back and read it one day, i may forget how much i owe on my credit cards or how much to pay the cable company (even though i pay all my bills online). i refuse to sign up for e-statements because i need to have it physically in my hands. even though i will never open it.

Natalie is the only roommate who dealt with my issues proactively. sometimes she would sit me down and go through each individual piece and determine (along with my help) what went in the "toss" or "keep" pile. and other times, she would wait until i was out of the house and throw it all away without me knowing.

this problem floods over in to my email, as well. i keep all of the emails that family send me. i have a folder for it. i keep every picture emailed to me. i keep expired coupon codes. i keep old travel confirmations. everything. except junk email. i am subscribed to approximately 25 daily/weekly emails. they drive me bananas. i wake up every morning with at least 17. most of which are daily deal sites (groupon, living social) but a lot of which are style related (the Zoe report, OpenSky, HauteLook).

today, i unsubscribed to 4 of those daily emails. i feel like a hippo has been removed from standing on my shoulders. maybe tomorrow i will go through my purse.

but probably not.

in other news: i got my wisdom teeth out (the most miserably awkward feeling. ever.) and i bought this Michael Kors watch.  which is a mens watch, and i love it 10 times more because of it.