About six months ago I wrote about a project that I had started a few weeks before that of cleaning out a closet.
I mentioned then that I like to describe it as a work in progress. I had been progressing on it all right, but added it was still going to take quite a bit of time to get it done like I want.
Well, I must acknowledge until about a week ago I hadn’t made much progress. In fact, six months later it kind of looked a whole lot like it did when I wrote about it back then.
However, something occurred here at the house that helped step up the progress quite a bit in a short amount of time.
Recently, we’ve experienced some plumbing problems at the house. After my plumber had come and fixed some of it, he continued to assess it and had discovered it was going to be major.
However, it would be about a week before he and his crew could get to it. That would give us time to toss a whole lot of things away we didn’t need, put others in places that wouldn’t be in the way of the plumbers and we could give some of the good things away for the upcoming carnival my church is holding in early October.
I’ve made two trips to the church already with things for the carnival. I have assured them they now possess those and for no reason do I need or expect them back.
I’ve also made one trip to a local non-profit with items that should help them and I have some more to take this week.
It’s amazing what all I have found. Please understand while I’m not finished with this project quite yet, I’m a whole lot closer.
Guess I hadn’t been in a hurry because what’s in that closet, even though some stuff has been in there probably 20 or more years, it hasn’t been hurting anything. At least that’s the way I had looked at it.
However, my dear wife Pat has looked at it a little differently. So much so she’s offered me an incentive that when I do finish this project she’ll take me out to eat at a really nice restaurant.
She seldom looks in that closet, because she really has no reason to since the only thing of hers are some old clothes she never wears and told me she won’t wear, so I could give them away at any time, she’s told me.
I’ve seemed to rationalize, probably too much, when I believe there is a need to really keep and save something thinking I will use it at a later date.
Or, maybe my thought was I’ll save that for someone who might want it or because I will give it away.
In fact, a lot of those things I have found are really more mementoes than anything else. Most everything I’ve come across so far has little money value, but items that are keepsakes and that I can pass down.
It’s been interesting to find some of things I had completely forgot about.
As I write this, the plumbers have begun their work, but will be finished by sometime late the second day.
So, while I’ll know there is more cleaning out to do, I can take a bit of a breather.