Jubilee Monday #25: De Junking

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

This post has been ruminating for a few days now.

The thought processes were sparked by Antique Mommy's post, The Two Templetons. I left a comment reply on her post, but the topic has hit a nerve, and I think I probably need to address it in the remaining half of the Jubilee year.

If you didn't click through, I'm talking about purging stuff that is no longer needed, wanted, loved or useful. And the difficulty some of us (ahem, that would include me) have in discarding said stuff.

Where I grew up, wastefulness was considered a deadly sin, a character flaw, a moral failure. Part of my problem is that I have to overcome that condemnation in order to remove an item from the household.

But the other half of it is that I have a terrible time declaring something 'no longer needed, unwanted, unloved, or not useful.' I've probably read too many anthropomorphical kids' stories... I remember The Brave Little Toaster, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, the Velveteen Rabbit, The Island of Misfit Toys...and I remember the occasion upon which the item in question entered the household. Maybe it was a true Godsend at the time. Maybe it was perfect for that little unfilled spot in the household, or exactly filled a need. Maybe it was the height of fashion and made me look and feel mah-vel-ous. Or maybe it was hideous, but it was given to me with good will by someone very dear to me who is now no longer walking around on the planet.

Or maybe I'll need that exact widget for some unforeseen emergency at some time in the future.

Or, to be a bit more abstract, maybe that little rejection serves to make me feel justified in my reluctance to offer a helping hand, or even just a friendly word. Perhaps that disappointment is the rationale for me to not push myself out of the comfort zone just yet. Or that old injury keeps me considering myself a cripple so that I don't attempt to walk.

Whatever. There is a time when the old needs to go: into a trash bin, a recycle center, another home where it will fill the need for which it was designed... or just into the Sea of Forgetfulness and Forgiveness.

I need to be bold enough to see through emotions and recognize things for what they are...and are not.

And get rid of some stuff.