Unloading Unwanted Things

Carpet stretchers came today as scheduled, and they did a great job of getting our carpet to lay flat. Some of our larger pieces of furniture had to be unloaded before they came, so that they could move things around, if needed. As a result, over the weekend I unloaded two giant bookshelves, the bookshelf in my study, and brought all lower shelf clothes up to the second level in the closet. Kirk went through our huge three-drawer filing cabinet, then shredded old stuff that should have been thrown out long ago. His desk, which still sits in the bedroom, though he no longer uses it, was also emptied and cleared.

The best thing about all of this is it gave Kirk and I the opportunity to re-evaluate all this clutter we have around the house. This weekend we're having a garage sale. I know many of the things I unloaded from bookshelves, closets and rooms are going to end up being sold at that garage sale. And I say...hallelujah! I can't tell you how freeing it is to look over in those corners of the bedroom that once held so much STUFF and see them emptied. It is very good just to keep letting go of all this unnecessary garbage.

I think when I start to put books back on the shelf I'll be asking myself: do I really want this book to continue collecting dust on my bookshelf? Could I get it at a library if I needed it? Does it hold sentimental value? Or am I just collecting it because its a classic that I THINK I'm supposed to have?

Soon we're actually going to venture into the attic to go through all that STUFF. What an experience that will be! It's a wonder the whole ceiling doesn't cave in with the load of it all.

My goal is to make enough money for a lap top, so I can write while I'm sitting there hooked up to the IV bag every day for four hours.