The first step is to change your use of it so you don't think of it as a potential tea pot. Try putting a cutting in it with water. or put a bulb in it with water and watch it sprout. You can fill it with syrup and micro it the next time you make pancakes. The result of all these efforts is you can then more easily get rid of it. Its held bulbs after all--and is now ick for tea. Or maybe it becomes really handy for pancake syrup especially if you make your own with leftover strawberries,etc.

Going to thrift stores and flea markets made me realize that most of what I have in y house can be had for pennies on the dollar if I really wanted to replace it. It was an eye opener and put my treasures/juke in perspective.

I find that I like to decorate for the various holidays like I do for Christmas. I don't want enough to decorate the whole house, but just an area like the coffee table or the ledge in the kitchen window. I like the idea of a Valentine teapot, lephrechaun, turkey or something small for each of the holidays. If you can find a spot for the teapot where you can enjoy it for the short time of Valentine's, then keep it. If you can't find that niche, then donate it and let it be someone else's clutter.

Frank-ie, Frank-ie, here's a crowbar with my okay to donate it. Let it find it's way into someone's home who will use and enjoy it. It's been a year and you haven't found a use for it. Mustangs is right, the true value of stuff we own is very little unless it is useful or has immense sentimental value. Soooo, unless you come up with a use for it tout d'suite , it's off to the donation center.

You've had your moment with it, you're thoughts of Martha Stewartness with the idea of luxury of tea in bed but the reality is something else. Isn't it always this way. LOL.

Sky, who generally can get rid of things easily, but has moments of rubber banding herself.

For small items that I can't seem to part with, I put them in my small curio cabinet. I know this goes against your quest for help but perhaps if you did this, and it still bothered you that you couldn't part with it, it means it's time to let it go. Everything in my curio cabinet holds a special meaning to me and makes me smile and all my knick knacks are in one place.

You have to think about the life you really lead, as opposed to the one shown in magazine photos. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts, tea water gets microwaved at Omnimedia offices all the time. Give it away.

Well, I'm kind of with Marie on this one... I do have way too many thingies accumulated over the years, but I like them, and have fun arranging them (either in knick-knack places or otherwise), and if a person does have room for such things, without ending up walking between piles of newspaper, what's the harm, if she has to force herself to throw it out?

Hmmmm. I have a little china tea cup and saucer with gold rims I planned to glue together and hang on my Christmas tree. The tree got put away around January 5th. Why is that cup and saucer still sitting around? Send me a crowbar,too!

Thank you all for the support, humor and suggestions!

Guess what? I have put rubber bands around IT (to hold the lid on) and it is in the box to go to Goodwill.

Note, is is not yet AT Goodwill, so something could happen...

I really think you guys helped me out of the wormhole.

I spent some time this weekend cleaning my "study" (home office). I am lucky, or unlucky, enough to have a room that is that, plus the spare bedroom for guests.

I give myself credit for its not being just my personal play space, but is also the place for all the family photos, inherited stuff to go through, gift wrap, office supplies, and other "family" things; but, I do have space to organize as my own and showcase favorite books, personal fun junk, photos of kids and/or me having various adventures.

Still, I have TOO MUCH STUFF in there.

Because I did make some headway, I am kind of doing a Marie and Lucy thing in which I'm getting out some of my excess "treasures" and putting them out to see which ones pass the test and which I should just let go of. I do have a glass-fronted cabinet just for some of those items, and now I am re thinking what I want to keep there. I have room to "rotate" some things, but I had gone overboard with some collectibles.

It is not the trip over, massive stuff thing--it is just enough so that I spend more time trying to make sure it is all put away and then don't have a good clear space to work on an actual project--organizing the photos I do want to keep, and throwing others away-- and not enough time doing other fun things. I have also been an office supply addict--just too many little THINGS--but have finally seemed to figure out I don't need all that.

Plus, like most on the forum have noticed, it just feels better with less stuff rather than trying to maximize how cleverly you can store more stuff, because no matter how clever I am, it still gets out there somehow----