New Year's Irresolution

Ah, the New Year! And instead of Christmas' "visions of sugarplums", I am dreaming of a dumpster. I have visions of JC and me tossing decades of unnecessary stuff out the windows of this house into the yawning maw of a deep green dumpster that someone will come and haul away. Life would be so much simpler; our house would have so much more room if we could only let go of all this STUFF.

The problem, I think, is not emotional attachment so much as it is financial memory. How can I simply throw away items that I paid good money for not so long ago. (BTW, what does the phrase 'good money' mean? If it was something I didn't need, wasn't that expenditure 'BAD money'???) I have an aversion to tossing things that I might have to buy again later. Or things that I might want to share with a friend or family member sometime--like audiobooks. Let's face it. I have an aversion to throwing almost anything away. I have to overcome it.

One of the best methods for divesting ourselves of stuff is to move to a new house. When faced with the prospect of paying someone to pack and transport things we haven't looked at in decades, it's a little easier to part with whatever it is. And after the fact, one can always shrug and say, "We must have lost it in the move.." and forget about it. But that solution is only a temporary one, and not exactly efficient, anyway.

The other factor in retaining our junk is the sheer physical effort of removing it. Working my way through closets and dresser drawers and shelves and cupboards..transferring stuff to bags or boxes and hauling them up and down stairs, to the car, to the trash, to the Salvation Army, to the recycling center...This is a mountainous task, and I feel as if I am required to move it, a teaspoonful at a time. There are far too many other interesting things to do than move mountains, particularly one that involves decision-making with every teaspoonful removed.

What we need is an arbitrary decision-maker: someone who will heartlessly label the junk for what it is, will call in their minions to jettison it in whatever direction is most appropriate, and will leave us with empty closets and cupboards and shelves....and relieved of the burden of unnecessary belongings.

I can dream.