What's This Stuff Doing Here?







   We are in the process of tackling the mess in the storeroom. I use the word process because it is very clear to us that this is not a weekend project. It's going to take much longer than that to go through every thing and decide what to keep, what can be donated, what should be thrown away and what can be recycled.  Doing things like this is more complicated now. It used to be that you got a big dumpster and everything you didn't want went in it. Now that I'm older and environmentally conscious, I have to sort things. 
  Most of the stuff is mine accumulated through years of living in one place, then moving and not having time to sort things out before moving. What happens is that everything gets moved. As a result I'm finding things I didn't know I had. I'm not quite sure what to do with this stuff.
  I have notebooks from when I was in high school. Yes, high school. That was 30 years ago. I have no idea why I have those notebooks. That decision was easy. I ripped the pages away from the spiral wire and put the paper in the recycling bucket. What is hard is that some of the notebooks have blank pages in them. Do I save them? Blank notebook paper is useful. I ripped out the used pages and so far have saved the blank paper. I found my high school letter and the pins that go with it. I lettered in fine arts because I was editor of the school newspaper and also in orchestra. I didn't receive the letter until spring of my senior year right before graduation. It's not like I was going to buy a letterman sweater or jacket to wear it on. (I didn't even buy a class ring.) I should throw it away. It has no use and no value to me... or does it. For some reason I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
   I have the same challenge with some pictures. I have a copy of my brother's wedding picture, my sister's graduation picture and a picture of my brother's son when he was a baby. I also have a picture of my siblings and I that was taken as a present for my parents on their 25th wedding anniversary. I am completely and totally estranged from all of them. I haven't seen my siblings in 11 years. I should throw those pictures away. The frames are nice and can be donated. Something is stopping me from doing it though. I'm not sure why I can't just ruthlessly toss them into the trash. I have put them in a box for now.
  The books are easier. I have a lot of textbooks. I think I've saved every textbook that I used in college. I have a friend that can take them for me. They will either be used or recycled. Many of them are beginning chemistry, biology, organic chemistry and biochemistry. Maybe there is someone out there who has a use for them. There are many books that I have read only once that I know I will not read again. There are even a few that I've bought and never read. Time to get rid of them. Somewhere out there is a bibliophile who will be happy to have some of them.
  I still don't understand how I could have carried some of these things with me through all these years. The high school stuff especially baffles me. I did not enjoy high school. It was the worst time of my life.
  I have to admit I am enjoying getting rid of things. I never believed people who told me that ridding yourself of unwanted possessions can make you feel free and uncluttered. I have noticed that I do feel lighter. I like seeing a large space in the middle of the storeroom where boxes of stuff used to be. I enjoyed carrying boxes out to the garbage and driving other boxes to Goodwill. I already have a set of pilsner glasses that are going to go. Believe it or not there is also a set of teacups that I plan to donate as well.
  My goal is to have only the things that we need or that have some personal value. I have decided I don't want to look at what I have and ask, what's this stuff doing here?
 

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