Stuff. I’ve got a lot of stuff. Some of its pretty good stuff. Some of it’s not. I’ve been needing to go through it and get rid of the latter, but I have emotional issues when making the decision which is stuff, and which is junk. I’m not a hoarder, at least I don’t think I am. Okay, maybe I am, but my hoard is small when compared to a clinically diagnosed person with a hoarding disorder. That being said, I may have about 40 percent of my overall possessions that can be qualified as “junk”. That’s a high proportion. I think I have to take action.
We all accumulate stuff in our lives. Whether or not we hang onto it is a matter of personality and necessity. Sentimentality varies from person to person. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Especially if one of those guys is a hoarder. There are times when we just let our intentions run amok. Enjoying farm animal curios is fine. Two hundred of them, scattered throughout your house, that’s ridiculous. Photos are great. Every family should have them around, on the wall or in albums. Everyone loves looking at old pictures of you, and your loved ones, in a bygone era. Trunks of albums, boxes of thousands of photos, and ten dozen eight by tens on the wall might be overkill. There has to be a limit, ya know?
I like to collect comic books. I have a couple of plastic bins of them. No problem. I like old action figures. I have at least a full box of them. So far, so good, right? I hesitate to say how many books I own, because I’m not really sure. Maybe a couple of hundred. Could be more, but hey, books are a good thing, right? Put those things together and you start to fill a room. I’ve done that already. We won’t mention the nick-nacks, doo-dads, neat wooden boxes, and even a couple of cool sticks. Yeah, I said sticks. Don’t be judgy. I’m aware I have a problem. My wife told me it’s okay. So long as I keep it in my “office”. And the shed. And just where she doesn’t look. Because it drives her a little crazy.
See, she’s a lot less sentimental than I am. If she hasn’t used it, and doesn’t rationally think she’ll use it soon, she will just up and throw it away. Can you believe that? Me neither. I mean, somebody might need an old gorilla-shaped coin bank, carved out of a coconut, that someone you don’t really know got on vacation ten years ago. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a plug on the bottom to keep the coins from falling out, it’s still neat. Ugly, but neat. Right? We disagree about such things. I’m usually wrong, but that hasn’t stopped me from finding even neater stuff to collect dust in my “office”. Yes, my “office” is a room full of junk and books. I don’t even write in there or do the bills. Laura Gail won’t go in there, so long as nothing stinks and she’s not asked to get anything out of there. I think she loves me.
I guess what I’m saying is that I intend to find a better balance between my stuff and my junk, this year. Y’all wish me luck.
God bless y’all!
Rolling Stones 