random thoughts on cleaning house
One of the good things about moving (because yes, there are good things to this process) is the cleaning out...of closets, boxes, shelves and anywhere else I manage to stash stuff. And yes, I realize that, having just moved a year ago, I should probably not need to cull through anything. But I do. Both because I've accumulated stuff in the twelve months I've lived in Pennsylvania, and because I didn't do as thorough a job sorting and discarding as I could have the last time around.
In going through a stack of magazine clippings this afternoon, I found an article from Blueprint magazine titled "100 reasons to get rid of it". (And yes, thank you, I get the irony of having this article stacked in a pile of papers.) It's a fun combination of information and amusement, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite reasons from this list of why one should get rid of things.
~ because you have too much stuff. (supposedly, 80% of what we own we never use.)
~ because someone else needs it. (such as frequent flier miles for deployed soldiers, or household items for local non-profits)
~ because it can be turned into something else (such as recycled footwear materials becoming sports and playground surfaces)
~ because you don't want to suffer from Stuck Song Syndrome (for which two of the most common songs are "YMCA" and "It's a Small World After All"...and now they're stuck in your head, aren't they? Heh.)
~ because...well, just because.
The article also included some great quotes, of which I liked this one the most...
Good stuff. Now please excuse me while I go back to my sorting.
Where I am: Pennsylvania
What I'm reading: The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
In going through a stack of magazine clippings this afternoon, I found an article from Blueprint magazine titled "100 reasons to get rid of it". (And yes, thank you, I get the irony of having this article stacked in a pile of papers.) It's a fun combination of information and amusement, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite reasons from this list of why one should get rid of things.
~ because you have too much stuff. (supposedly, 80% of what we own we never use.)
~ because someone else needs it. (such as frequent flier miles for deployed soldiers, or household items for local non-profits)
~ because it can be turned into something else (such as recycled footwear materials becoming sports and playground surfaces)
~ because you don't want to suffer from Stuck Song Syndrome (for which two of the most common songs are "YMCA" and "It's a Small World After All"...and now they're stuck in your head, aren't they? Heh.)
~ because...well, just because.
The article also included some great quotes, of which I liked this one the most...
"Have nothing in your houses
that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
(William Morris)
Good stuff. Now please excuse me while I go back to my sorting.
Where I am: Pennsylvania
What I'm reading: The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
Comments
She can decide that ANYTHING can be useful. My "keep it or chuck it" decision when going through things is based on, "Ok, so when in the last year have you even SEEN this, much less USED it.?"