So this post was written in March 12, 2015. and i havent been able to post it, i dont know why. it sat in drafts folder for the last 8 years basically. so im posting this today.

My name is benjamin. I am a hoarder.

It is important to understand one’s weaknesses in order to overcome it. With years of experience, i have no qualms about keeping things that mean something to me. And years after that reason has expired, i still have those items and they have accumulated to a mountain load.

My name is benjamin. I am a pack rat. yes

it was almost never an issue how i would keep things and not throw anything away when i was young. my mother let me rip up tissue napkins and fill up facebook is a treasure trove and one of those days back in march, traction was building up for one marie kondo, a japanese guru on organizing stuff. i began reading up about her work and tried to get a copy of her book, the life-changing magic of tidying up.

so as ive said, this post was written in 2015. im now adding to this post and it’s 2023. i was successful in throwing out loads of stuff over the years, im also successful in keeping the few items that still spark joy. ive also have moved out of our katipunan apartment from 3 years ago and as you can imagine i need to be strategic on what i can keep and what i need to let go because condo spaces are generally small. storage will always be a problem.

one good thing is that i am a production designer for film. i can still keep some items and the rest i donate to my work as a designer. i get to be a hoarder as a designer haha i cant be a hoarder as a person but my work can be that person for me. lol.

so my condo space is a nice curation of items that carlo and i keep (mostly mine) and the rest are out in our work bodega warehouse. over the years too we needed to move warehouses and especially during the pandemic, we had to give up 80% of our stuff coz i couldnt afford the warehouse after 2 years of no clear work.

time to grow up. time to shake off the material wealth that will weigh us down. char! you dont need these in heaven. haha but your time on earth is always more colorful when surrounded by a few carefully selected book collection and small hand-written stories you made when you were 8, like 7 presidents ago.