stuff.

i watched a tv show recently that i found very disturbing.....a segment of 'hoarders' that had me a bit confused. a hoarder would seem to be somebody who collected things, saved everything, was overwhelmed by the stuff. but the people i saw weren't collectors, they were, for a lack of the politically correct noun,  slobs. their houses were filthy: garbage, human waste, dead animals....and insects crawling everywhere.  i watched the show in the same state of fascinated horror that i feel when i pass a car wreck or a house fire....and  watching it once was one too many times. these people had to be mentally unwell to live in such filth and making a tv show about their misery was, in my estimation, wrong.

anyway, i started thinking about 'stuff' and how it just takes on a life of it's own. how much stuff do i need? how much stuff do i use? where did all this stuff come from? since that show, i have been on a personal campaign to eliminate what i don't need. maybe it's my age. maybe it's the brain disease. but i started noticing my own little hoards.

i cleaned out the dish cupboard. how many dishes can we use? how many chipped, cracked plates? how many coffee cups with missing handles? and then the cupboard of food...outdated boxes of rice, canned pineapple past the expiration date, spices that had been forgotten....it surprised me. and i haven't even focused on the plastic storage dishes, the scratched and dented pans, the 'junk' drawer.

i collected old sheets and old curtains for donation. i threw out old shampoos and old make-up. i started sorting through books. my father uses the local library...i prefer amazon. i need to reacquaint myself with mr. dewey decimal. sure, i have treasured books that i will never part with. but those that crowd my shelves are dust collectors, not treasures. i have a file of important documents that i haven't sorted in over a year.

there is something liberating about eliminating 'stuff.' it may be difficult to donate those books and knick knacks but it is wonderful to clear space. i ask myself what i would miss if everything went up in flames? maybe 20% of what i have. i went through a similiar process last fall, as i prepared to leave my sister, dee's, after a year in vermont. i guess i need to reevaluate what i have managed to collect on a monthly basis.  all things broken get tossed out. all things not used get donated. my new mantra...