Culling the Hoard

This is how we spent our weekend. Our village had a spring clean out day to celebrate a new contract with the waste hauler. Prices, of course, are going up, so to make it more palatable, they offered residents a one time, all you can put out for 3 stickers deal. We put out everything our backs would allow and then some.

The picture does not show all of the junk we put out, as it was snatched up by people trolling in their cars all weekend. The old shower doors were taken right off the wagon I used to wheel them out. Three of four stacking bins were grabbed within minutes, as was the stroller, which we got third hand. I really enjoyed watching the trollers slow their cars to peer into each and every junk pile. Some came out and debated the worthiness of the junk on the curb, others drove slowly on. It was fascinating.

Included in our pile were four pieces of furniture the previous owners of our house left behind. That was almost 13 years ago! We've lived here too long, moving has a way of getting people to toss their garbage. Some things, like the shower doors and the water slide with a hole in it, should have been carted to the curb long ago. We were just too lazy.

The real victory in our garbage mountain is in coming to grips with my "fabric." I have a problem throwing away things I could use to make something else. Good intentions led to compulsive hording of old, stained clothes. I went through boxes and boxes of the clothes, limiting myself to four tubs in the end - knits, wovens, denim and fleece. There really isn't enough time left in my life to weave rugs or knit blankets from all the fabric I had saved! I'll never do it. Being on my organizing bend really helped me to come to grips with my stash. I was ruthless.

I did manage to fill the station wagon with unstained old clothes to give to Goodwill. My girl and I dropped the stuff off yesterday. 40 adult shirts. 29 pants and skirts. 20 baby outfits - my youngest is four years old! Books, unused appliances, blankets we don't use. An unbelievable amount of stuff, filling all but my seat and one seat in the back. At least someone else will get some use out of the things we donated.

Our backs and legs are killing us. All that time on cement floors, all that lugging up and down stairs. I hope my children never go through this, never have the need to save like their parents do. This weekend was a lesson for us and for them.

More amazing than the amount of garbage our house can hold, more interesting than watching the scavengers go through our junk, is the fact that some houses did not participate. Some of these people have lived here all their lives, or at least as long as we have. Maybe they are better and tossing as it comes, maybe they are waiting for another spring cleaning day, maybe they are hoarding more than we have.