Cleaning out the old stuff in 2017

I would like to turn over a new “leaf” in 2017, but I don’t have room. Something else is always in the way. I’ve lived in this house for almost forty years, and during that time, I’ve been collecting things: important things, valuable things, things I didn’t need, things I didn’t want, and things that no one else will ever want. But to preserve my sanity and to give myself room to collect a few more things during the next twenty or so years of my life, I’m going to have a massive “throwing away.”

I know, I could sell the stuff on the local “buy, sell, and trade.” That would be lovely. But I’ve got the kind of stuff that will not sell. No one wants the Christmas dresses I bought for my daughter’s back in 1983. They were red velvet, trimmed in satin, fairly expensive, and worn a total of four times … twice the year they fit and twice the year they were too short. When I offered one of them to my oldest daughter, she swore that I’d bought it used from a Fundamentalist sect when the leader was sent to prison for bigamy and bad taste.

My office is filled with books. It’s a sin to throw away books. Although I taught school from many of these books, I’m not sure anyone would want them. After all, there is very little need for 7th grade grammar books, 8th grade literature books, and 6th grade social studies books. The geography books contain names of countries with forgotten names, exiled leaders, and natural resources which have been used up, screwed up, or replaced by some new invention. The maps of Africa, Asia, and Europe have had so many border changes since the late 1960s that one would have a hard time finding their ancestors in these books.

In addition to those books, I have a complete set of World Book Encyclopedias from 1977, twelve feet of various World Literature sets, a couple of sets of encyclopedia of photography, carpentry, and plumbing. Everything mentioned in the aforesaid books can be found on my cell phone in a matter of seconds … without any dust clogging up my sinuses. 

In the buffet, which I now use for my television, is a complete set of nice china. It belonged to my mother. It’s a really nice set, which if I can remember was used back in 2002 when my sister came for Christmas and I wanted to remind her that “I got the dishes.” My mother saved for two years to buy those dishes, and my daughters will probably sell them for pennies on the dollar at the “dividing.” This is probably true of the silver-plate, the crystal bowl from Austria, and the set of Hummel figurines we collected over a period of twelve years … until I insisted I wanted something else for Christmas besides another Hummel.

After I go through the good stuff, I’m going to go through the useless stuff. I’m probably going to get rid of that apple-peeler, the electric can-opener, and the pressure cooker with the missing seal. I have a cabinet full of cake pans, pie plates, and muffin cups. None of these have been used in the last five years. They are rusted, cracked, dusty, and vastly over-rated. 

I have a lovely lazy-Susan cabinet full of various holiday dishes. Most of these were bought after the seasons, on sale, and seldom used.

I’ve got to get rid of the stuff. After all, the after-Christmas sales will be starting soon, and I won’t have any room for the new stuff.