So much ‘stuff’

I’m starting spring cleaning early! The easy part was clearing out old receipts and bank statements from before 2000 (some went as far back as the 1980s). They had been organized in bags and boxes in our house (where we have lived for 20 years) – just there because we had space for them. The items with bank account, credit card and social security numbers are loaded into boxes to go to our Credit Union’s shredding day and the rest went into the recycle bin.

Then there are a few bags of clothes gleaned from closets and the cedar chest. I am still suspicious that there are items in my husband’s closet that he will never wear again, but he is very clear that he is not ready to part with them yet.

I went through the books I had in my ‘to read’ pile and discovered some that I’m not sure why I ever picked up. So they are added to the books I’ve read and decided not to keep….another few boxes of stuff staged to leave the house.

Then there are the miscellaneous things that come into the house – greeting cards from charities soliciting donations, baskets and vases from arrangements (How many do we need to keep? Certainly fewer than we have in the house now) and rolls of wrapping paper that I will never use since I use gift bags all the time now.

I made the appointment with a charity to pick up the boxes and bags from my front porch….and feel great about the prospect of the house being a little less stuffed!