A Clearer Path

"This year," Carly resolved, "I'm going to de-clutter this

house. Go through the place,top to bottom. Rid myself of

all the junk! "

This was going to be a monumental task. She'd been a

pack rat for as long as she could remember. From the rock

collection in her grade school desk to her many present day

collections all these years later. She had a problem getting

rid of STUFF.

But now, she was going to lighten her load, start pitching.

She'd start with the hall linen closet.

Except for the two middle drawers, this cupboard held

everything but linens.

Take the bottom drawer for instance: for the last umpteen

years, it had held children's frame tray puzzles. Some of them

had been purchased brand new, while others were picked up

at rummage sales.

She had never known when a little kiddo would show up,

needing something to do.

While most of the puzzles were in decent shape, the fact

remained that, since her youngest grandchild was now eleven

years old, their useful life in her house was over.

Closing her eyes, she picked up all the puzzles, placing them

into a donation box headed for a local charity.

Then, up to the top of the cupboard. That thing held every-

thing from boxed games to candles. From saved greeting cards

to high school memory books and pictures in frames. Many more

items to go to donations.

Others began to fill up a garbage bag.

Was that really a troll doll?

This cleaning thing was beginning to gain some serious steam,

taking on a life of its own. A little bit more cleaning and she'd

actually have room for the linens now relegated to the two drawers.

There. That was better.

On to the home office. This place was a virtual repository

of all things paper. Receipts, unfinished and dual manuscripts,

saved addresses, extra phone books.

Throw away unneeded papers, recycle the phone books, file

the rest. Clear the bulletin board.

Then there were dry pens and markers ,renegade paper clips,

unneeded computer programs, connection cords.

Connection cords? Better rethink that one. Throw in haste,

Be sorry ever afterward.

The garbage bag was filling up. Time for a new one.

Also time for a cup of coffee. This cleaning thing took some

serious energy.

As she sipped the steaming elixir, she imagined what the

house would look like once she was done: wide open spaces.

Bare surfaces on tables,

Not the house she'd known in a long time, maybe ever.

On to the living room. Unread books, gone! Long ago

fashionable knick-knacks, some of which she hadn't dusted

or even noticed in a very long time, ready for the donation

box.

But wait. Could she really get rid of that angel from Aunt

Ethel? She even remembered when she'd received it. It was

after her surgery all those years ago. A symbol of comfort

that still evoked a strong feeling of support and warmth.

The angel went back on the shelf.

Picture albums and boxes of loose pictures caught her eye.

They were projects for a snow stormy day.

On to the magazine rack. Back issues of Reader's Digest, Better

Homes and Gardens, as well as a sundry of other magazines

seemed to multiply before her eyes.

Before she deposited them into the recycling bin, she had

to give them one last look. Might have missed a good article

or two.

Same story with unused CDs and movies.

She couldn't believe how liberating this was beginning to

feel. Or how tiring. She was beginning to run out of energy.

That was enough for today. Great changes don't come

overnight.

The next day's target was the dining room.

Did she really need two sets of china? She would always keep

her wedding china. But the other set was one that had been

offered, a piece at a time, by the local grocery store.

She'd just had to have it when it was offered.

But the reality was, it had rarely seen its way out of the cupboard.

And, with the quality of disposable dinnerware nowadays,

who used fancy dishes enough for them to take up valuable real

estate in her china hutch?

A quick internet check for what the set and other fancy dishes

were worth prompted a few good pictures and an offer for sale on

a resale website.

Finding a sturdy box and some bubble wrap found from a recent

arrival, she carefully packed each piece for its exit from her home.

The next day found her cleaning out the kitchen, ridding it of

every unused pot, pan and utensil. Yet another set of dishes

would find a new home.

Loose recipes were corralled to fit into a large loose leaf notebook. Other unused recipe books were slated for charity.

Old spices and mismatched Tupperware:gone.

She went through the pantry, wiping down each shelf, ridding

it of older cans and boxes.

Climbing down from the higher shelves, she found her arms

ached and her back throbbed. Time to quit for the day.

Later that week, she went through the bedrooms. Closets were

purged of unused clothes.( what had she been thinking with some

of these styles?)

What had she once heard? Turn your hangers backwards. If

the garment on that hanger doesn't get moved in six months, get

rid of it.

Then, there were out of style jewelry, as well as drawers to sort through.

the next week, the basement got tackled. It had become a

special kind of catch-all purgatory for those things not used, but

not yet deemed disposable: flower pots, fruit jars, ice cream pails,

paints and painting equipment all had to be dealt with.

Coming back to the main floor, she mused: while certainly not

finished, she had made incredible progress in a short time.

"What could she do?", she wondered, "to stay in this new,better

organized life style?"

It was then she happened on her new mantra:"when in doubt,

throw it out."