Stuff That’s Tough to Throw Away

According to Diana Reese of Family Circle magazine, there are several categories of things that we just don’t want to throw away, no matter how old or outdated they are.

You know what? I believe her. I mean, just look around your house. I betcha you’ll find at least a couple of items in each category in the list that really now … admit it, you should dump or give away.

Her list (and my comments):

1.       Kitchen utensils: I’ve got extra pots and pans galore. Even pots without handles, even non-stick sauté pans that are scratched and no longer non-stick.

2.       Coffee mugs: You should see my collection. Every time someone gives me a coffee mug, onto the mug shelf it goes.

3.       Plastic containers: We’ve got ‘em, two cupboard shelves full of them, remnants from stuff that came in plastic containers.

4.       Little-used stuff: Like staples for a stapling gun that’s rusted, little jars of ground ginger that’s turned into a brown ball, thumbtacks missing a bulletin board, etc., etc.

5.       Vases: Again, closet shelves full of them. I mean, the wife just can’t dispose of vases that came with flowers someone gave us.

6.       Food: Just thank God you don’t have to look into our freezer and refrigerator, not to mention the back of our cupboard and larder.

7.       Spices: The spice rack is full. Spices lost their potency and I think most of ours lost theirs decades ago. We have powdered cinnamon that was bought in the ‘70s.

8.       Receipts: Boxes and  boxes in closets, the basement, and in garage storage .

9.       Magazines: I’m actually getting better with these. Instead of saving them to give away, I dump ‘em now, ‘cept for ones I think my mom would like to read.

10.   Mail: Hah! This is no longer on my list, although there’s a stack that the wife and other members of the family don’t open, but just leave there lying on the kitchen table.

11.   Unread books: I think I have this one solved too. I now do all my book reading either on my Kindle or my iPad2. Still, I do have a bunch of texts and reference books from my days as a university professor that I just can’t seem to get rid of (a reverence for the printed word, y’see).

12.   Clothes: Tell me about it. Every now and then, when I cull my wardrobe, the wife insists she’ll give them to someone who wants them. Anybody want a pile of used clothing in a couple of laundry baskets? And how come nobody throws away old children’s clothes? I think some of my sons’ have worked their way all the way to Florida by now.

13.   Kids’ artwork: It’s only when your kids leave home that their artwork disappears off the refrigerator door and into a drawer, never to be thrown away. Then you get grandkids and the cycle starts all over again.

14.   Electronics: Anybody want an old desktop computer, either of my two old laptops, my non-digital television sets, my Palm Pilot, or my old videotape camera?

15.   Linens: We have sheets that I bought from an outlet store in downtown back in the mid-‘80s. They’re so thin in the toenail area.

16.   Medicine: The other day, when I opened the medicine cupboard in the kitchen, I found and threw away at least a dozen bottles of old, expired medicine. There are more hiding there. I just have to get ambitious and search for them.

17.   Toys: Will somebody throw away those Legos? I stepped on one the other day, and we haven’t taken them out since the sons left elementary school in the ‘70s.

I kid you not!