3/31/10 Tiny watering can, recycledI was really struggling this evening. After my two loves were asleep upstairs and I finished up some schoolwork a little after 10PM, I wandered down to the basement, hoping to find something to throw out.
I listlessly pawed through a few storage boxes, looked over the random pile on my workbench, and peered into the darkest corners. But, my heart wasn't in it, and I wasn't having much luck.
It's work to do most downsizing. It's just not right to take most things -- even if you don't want them and they have no clear value -- and throw them into the trash. I am getting better at identifying things I can give away to specific people, but that doesn't help me when I'm trying to downsize two hours before midnight. (Side note: one key to successfully giving things away is targeting specific people to give them to. It's easy to say, "Oh, someone will want that!" but not always so easy to find the someone. You've got to start with the someone in mind, otherwise it can just get frustrating.) Donating things can be almost as tricky, and requires some planning. Even worse, selling stuff takes energy, initiative, and time.
It's just not easy to do downsizing on the spot. But, at this hour, I had little choice.
I'd almost given up on the basement when my eyes fell on this little watering can collecting dust behind the laundry detergent. I believe I bought the can back when I lived in New York, and it was an absolutely ridiculous purchase from day one. The foolish thing is so small that you'd be better off just filling a coffee mug with water and using that. No plant worth keeping alive could survive on the paltry drips of water this can provides.
So, of course, I brought the can with me to Maine and held onto it for another seven years. The layers of dust verified that it was a safe item to toss, and the still-attached price tag ($1.99) confirmed that I wasn't exactly sacrificing an investment.
Into the recycling bin.
There, that wasn't so hard, was it?
Your constancy and commitment is to be admired!
ReplyDelete"...you'd be better off just filling a coffee mug with water and using that." One of the obvious lessons of the downsizing challenge: how often we acquire something to do something that something we already have can do!
ReplyDeleteJDV: there's no justification for admiration; at this point I have NO CHOICE but to keep going!
ReplyDeleteGemni: As I look around this place, I'm astounded by how many things we have that do the same task as three other things. Redundancy lives!