Wednesday, February 24, 2016

George Carlin Wisdom and Gritted Teeth


Obey, not through gritted teeth.

We are remodeling, knocking down walls in our home. The truth is with a more open concept, fewer walls means less storage. Less storage means less stuff. Less stuff means getting rid of stuff we have accumulated over decades. This is hard!

Why do we (I) get so attached to things we have never used or at least haven't used in too long. Even going through my spice drawer I wince at throwing out the Marjorum and Thyme. I don't cook with marjoram or thyme.  But I wish I did so it has been in my kitchen for almost 39 years. Going through the pots and pans we found 7 frying pans. What! Okay, here is how that happened. I helped Jenn clean out a storage locker for Dianne and brought home an array of pots and pans. Of course, we had our own and then Natalie moved and we kept hers as well. It just happened.  We are down to a handful of cookbooks but the truth is we search for recipes online to match the ingredients we have. Can't tell you the last time we opened a cookbook. My recipes Mom handwritten for me are another thing. Those will never see the garage sale bin.

The kitchen isn't the only place too much stuff has gathered. How do you toss out someone's old cell phone? What if a friend or kiddo loses theirs and desperately needs one? Then there is our drawer of cords and chargers. It is truly equivalent of the 'pens that don't work drawer' I used to tease my Mom about. But we justify keeping them even when the chance of needing them again is slim and we could always hit up Radio Shack for a replacement if the need happened. 

It would be less painful if I wasn't also weeding out in my classroom to retire this summer. There are boxes of curriculum I have purchased over the years and hate to just toss. I did give my professional books to a young colleague. But I don't really know what my next step is after the middle school. What if I tutor or teach somewhere else? Shouldn't I keep 8 boxes of stuff just in case? Truth is most everything I need is online.  

Besides, shouldn't we share all this clutter stuff with others through the online garage sales and charity. How can they begin to accumulate the unnecessary things if my stuff isn't available at a bargain basement price? Okay, so the car is loaded to the roof with another load for patient Heather to sell, donate, or keep. Let me know if we need to buy you more shelves for our stuff.

In Him,
Joyful
2-24-16

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