Wednesday, October 8, 2008

“Clutter” Postscript


Try this: Next time you run out of something, try to live without it for a while. Unless it’s love.
(Puzzle piece number 21 of 38.)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Did Someone Utter “Clutter”?

I despise clutter almost as much as I do dishonesty and onions. Fact is, even a little clutter sends me into ADHD mode. I start bouncing off the walls and acting like my hiking buddy, Bob, before his glass of wine. I just can’t think clearly if my space is messy.

One way I keep things neat is by not accumulating stuff. When I receive mail that I need to keep, I look for older paper I can recycle, shred, or burn, just as one would do with old boyfriends. And with replacing myself: When I leave this earth, I will have one child to replace me.

I don’t buy things I don’t need and haven’t for a couple of decades. Okay, I probably don’t need wine, but…

When I find things in my home I don’t need, I give them away to the appropriate person or organization.

When a friend offers to give me something she no longer needs, I really contemplate the gift. If it’s not food, money, or a cute guy, I will probably decline the offer.

Some of us Wisconsin natives have a container fetish. After the 32 ounces of yogurt is gone, the container goes into the dishwasher for later use. I fill its emptiness with spaghetti, vegetable soup, dead cow for the dog, pieces of former boyfriend. I stick masking tape to the top or side and label it.

Typically I take excess containers to the soup kitchen, so they can fill them with food for the homeless and those with little to no income. But lately I’m becoming daring: I’m tossing very-used, dirty plastic containers into the recycle bin! It’s a strange feeling, but once I take it to the recycler, I feel relieved, like after taking a laxative.

So if you want to reduce clutter in your life, only accumulate good friends, not things. Unless you really need them…as you do friends.

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