I am not a hoarder, but I will admit that I frequently have internal dialogues (talk to myself) about what to keep and what to throw away. I was not a child of the depression but my husband was and the time honored opinion "We should keep it. We might need it again sometime." was often expressed at our house. In the last few years I have become much better at getting rid of stuff. Recycling helps. It somehow feels more virtuous to dump something in the recycling bin that in the garbage bin.
This impulse to keep stuff even extends to institutions. The church where I work was designed with lots of closets and storage rooms. They are all full.
Today I was standing outside the church building with a friend who also works there. We were eyeing an attractive old sign that has hung beside one of the entrances for many years, but which no longer is accurate because the name of out book store has changed.
I'm standing there thinking "Pitch it and make room for a new sign." as my friend utters those familiar words "Maybe we should keep it. We could store it in a closet." "Or maybe," she went on "we could put it in our history museum." Wow, maybe that's what I need. Perhaps, instead of continuing to clear out my basement, I'll just call it a museum. Anyone want to buy a ticket?
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