Saver or Thrower Away

 

There are two types of people in this world:

People who easily throw things away and

People who don’t.

I’m the latter,

But I’m thankful for friends who are the first.

 

On Tuesday afternoon,

My Friend Jes stopped by the house and coached me in cleaning my living quarters.

To be exact, she just started organizing and throwing things away

Until I was clearly unhappy.

Then she stepped back and simply supported me as I did the same things,

Just at a much slower and more deliberate pace.

Many hours later,

My living space was the cleanest it’s been in a long time—

And a tin moratorium had been declared.

(Unless it’s a unique, special tin! 😊)

 

On Wednesday morning,

Front Office Cris came out to my storage area at work.

I share the area with the guidance counselor, the custodial staff, and ghosts of years past.

Cris had arranged for the shred truck to come and shred over 30 boxes of papers.

After those were cleaned out,

We, with the help of Joe the Custodian and Front Office Ellen,

Cleaned out a whole bunch of other stuff—

Old electronics—

Junk—

Things that had been there for years—

Cords tangled with spiders and spider webs—

And it made all of us happy—

Except maybe the spiders.

 

Now.

Would I have thrown away—

Or in the case of my house, put in the box to give away—

So much stuff had it not been for Jes and Cris?

No! Absolutely not.

I would have looked at each individual item and tried to figure out a way to use it or repurpose it or save it in case it might be used in the future.

But because I had help,

I was able to let go of a lot of clutter.

And it actually feels good—

Though part of me feels guilty for making so much trash

And not being a good steward—

Which is ridiculous,

Because the stuff in the storage closet at school wasn’t mine to begin with!

 

What about you?

Are you a saver/repurposer or

Are you a thrower-awayer?

Has it always been this way for you?

Or have you changed over time?

 

I’ve always been a saver,

But I’m getting better at throwing/giving things away—

Or at least being more intentional in my purchases.

 

I really just want to be a good steward.

It all comes down to that.

 

What about you?

 

And…go!