Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness, Or Something

July 26, 2007 on 10:58 am | In Inspirations, PeaceBanging Around |

I moved into this big, lovely parsonage five years ago. It’s a four-bedroom house and it scares me how I’ve managed to fill it with STUFF. I do keep an eye on things, however, since I don’t want to have a nervous breakdown when it comes time to move someday.

But, aieeee! Closets, drawers, shelves! It’s one thing to keep the rooms fairly neat, organized and uncluttered (lotsa luck on that one, since I love bibelots and have never been the stream-lined IKEA type). But what about the endless cabinets, drawers and hidey-holes that a minister-hobbit can so easily fill with … what’s in there, anyway? ITEMS. That’s all they are. ITEMS. Kitchen ITEMS. Cosmetic ITEMS. Office ITEMS. Bedside table ITEMS. Lip glosses, tubes of hand cream, Chinese take-out menus, incense, pens, tsotchkes (however you spell it), candles, old electronic equipment you don’t know how to recycle (Walkman?), cards, stamps and sealing wax.

But even though the mysterious forest of all my closets and drawers remain wild and untamed, I must say that it is a huge relief having thoroughly cleaned and re-organized my parlor, at least. And I’ve done a lot of work on my home study as well, categorizing books, filing and organizing. My books are like rabbits; no sooner have I given away 50 of them than 50 more appear on the shelves.

It’s a comfort sometimes to think of the inevitable down-sizing of age. One room at the nursing home and then that pine box six feet under. Jesus said you can’t take it with you and honey, I wouldn’t want to.

I’ll be traveling for a bit. I’ll try to blog on the joys of looking after my two nephews (the Adventure Midgets) from Pennsylvania.

5 Comments »

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  1. Oh, I understand you almost religiously (ha) on the book thing. I don’t know how it works. I walk in, and someone asks me about a book, and I get a bit of an odd look on my face. Then I go find it in my bookshelf. It doesn’t even really matter if I actually purchased the book or not. My bookshelves are magical.

    Comment by jh — July 26, 2007 #

  2. I think about that often, Peace Bang. All of my material possessions will fit inside my car and I’ve tried deliberately to keep it that way.

    I’ve been helping my parents downsize and get their house ready to sell and put on the market and my Father remarked on how much crap they’ve accumulated over the years. Most of it is just that: crap. It didn’t make them any happier and all it is now is clutter currently collecting dust and cobwebs in the basement.

    Comment by Comrade Kevin — July 26, 2007 #

  3. Electronics–unwanted–can be donated. Electronics–not working–are generally considered a form of household hazardous waste. It’s all the nasty, toxic metals that go into the circuitry, etc. So you need to find out where your state/community deals with those. Get to it, because batteries–all of them–are in the same category; you should not be tossing them.

    I’m told that some (all?) Goodwill Stores handle electronics disposal. But I don’t personally know if that’s true.

    Comment by ogre — July 26, 2007 #

  4. Having downsized our life from two full houses to a 300 square foot RV, I can tell you how wonderful it feels to be free of stuff. Full-time RVers have a saying: You don’t own stuff, it owns you. Until you get rid of most of it, a certain freedom can elude you.

    I have one drawer of miscellany. Three drawers of clothes and three feet of closet rod space. Seven pairs of shoes. My choices are limited, but since I culled everything down to my absolute favorites, those choices are always a pleasure.

    You might enjoy this website: http://unclutterer.com/ which has a clean, crisp design to match its purpose. Another I like is http://psychologyofclutter.wordpress.com/ written by a therapist. Her writing is often funny and always spot-on.

    Comment by Louise — July 27, 2007 #

  5. Hello UU Lady,

    First-time commenter here. Just idly curious: You say

    “…Chinese take-out menus, incense, pens, tsotchkes (however you spell it)…

    My dictionary defines tchotchke so:

    tchotchke |ˈ ch ä ch kə| (also tsatske)
    noun informal
    1 a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional; a trinket.
    2 a pretty girl or woman.
    ORIGIN 1960s: Yiddish.

    Re 2nd definition: If you have any pretty girls or women you’re not using would you consider sending them over here?

    Just a thought… :o) Go well now.

    p.s. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be possessed by one’s possessions…

    Comment by Francis — July 27, 2007 #

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