(another) Cleaning Day

The middle of May was the first time I started bringing clothes to Goodwill. I was using kitchen size (30 gallon) trash bags and after filling about a dozen bags I thought I had completed most of the job, only later to realize there was still a huge dresser and a closet to go. I emptied the dresser maybe a month ago and today I finished with the closet.

A couple of folks had offered to help in the past but I've always turned them down. I was thinking today that maybe that's because if several people had helped it would have all been done in one day. Instead, I've done it at my own speed which turns out to have its own benefits. Each time I've worked on bagging things I'd work until I didn't feel like doing anymore. A sure sign was when I would start to think, well I'll just keep "this" for now, or I'll just keep "that" a little longer.

It would be a scene reminiscent of the movie "The Jerk" when Navin (Steve Martin) has lost his wealth and been dumped by his wife and on the way out the door he says:

"Well I'm gonna to go then. And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need you. I don't need anything except this. [picks up an ashtray] And that's it and that's the only thing I need, is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray. And this paddle game, the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need."

One of the benefits of breaking up my task was seeing that the experience of bagging and donating clothes has changed over time. I still ended up getting a tear in my eye driving home from goodwill, but these days teary eyes just happen sometimes and they're now associated with positive memories.

Besides Robin's clothes, I also cleaned up medications (prescription and homeopthic) and medical supplies. I had no idea how much junk was laying around until I went through the hallway closet. The hospice folks seem to have a hit list of meds which they dispose of, but apparently lots of mundane pharmaceuticals are not on their list - like "numbing mouthwash" (for patients receiving head and neck radiation). After pouring three different liquids down the drain I started to wonder if I might accidentally create a toxic brew if I wasn't more careful!

While I've met people who hang onto stuff forever, and some who clean out their house within a week or two, I feel like I'm just doing things at my own pace.