Discarding random stuff

Today I tackled a project that’s been eating away at me for months: the clearing out of a section of our staircase (AKA our “storage” area).

It was only one corner, but crammed with stuff that has been accumulating for close to five years. Not only was I able to establish some order to the shelves — light bulbs on one shelf; tools on their designated shelf; etc. — but I actually went through all the various containers and discarded lots of items that I know we’ll never use again.

But the worst thing? Well, you know when you assemble a piece of furniture and there are leftover bits (Allen wrenches, screws, nuts and bolts, etc.)? We had tons of those!

You hate to throw them out because — maybe, just maybe — they might come in handy sometime. But they NEVER DO (come in handy, I mean). They just accumulate.

So, between those bits and pieces, and a few other oddities, I have two grocery bags full of stuff to take to the free box.

Hope springs eternal that someone will be able to make use of this stuff!

Out with the old

The project for today was in two parts.

First we released a piece of furniture that served us well for over a decade but was well past its usefulness. Of course, that meant emptying out the accumulation of stuff with which it was filled.

Then Ramesha (with a wee bit of help from yours truly) assembled the replacement furniture, which looks really nice. No picture yet, because we still have to sort through all the accumulated stuff and decide what to discard. In the meantime, it’s all back on the shelves in a bit of a hodgepodge.