I was relaxing in my “Comfy Chair,” and I heard my wife call out from the kitchen, “Joel, you promised to get rid of useless stuff in the basement that we haven’t used in years! Gather it up and take it to the Mission, please!” “I’m on it!” I replied. I must admit that I have hoarder tendencies; I find it difficult to part with many items I value. I walked down into the basement and opened the door to the area known as the “Catacombs!” This is the area of the house where things go to get stacked on each other, wait to be used, and gather dust.
It’s dark in there, and there are not a lot of lights and curtains over the windows. I tripped over the first item on the list, my treadmill. My treadmill is a valuable item. When I want to go for a walk, it is raining or icy outside. I used it for a while, then it began to gather stuff on the walking part, and I could not use it anymore, so I dragged it into the “Catacombs!” That was 3 years ago, out of sight, out of mind. We are now in spring, so I don’t need to use it until next winter, so I will keep it. On the second and third shelves, there were 3 boxes of canning jars, lids, etc. 5 years ago, we worked all day and canned 12 jars of tomatoes bought from our local fruit & vegetable stand. Loved eating them in the winter! It was a lot of work, so we began buying store tomatoes in glass jars instead of aluminum cans as they may be a healthier option. I’ll keep those; we may do canning this year! I found a box of old shoes and boots. Looking at them, I did not want to try them on; they seemed past their useful life, not Mission material, so I decided they could go into the landfill. One down! I felt a sense of relief overwhelm me.
Next up is a box with 3 old computers. I don’t know how to wipe of my personal data, and you must be careful if you are going to give them away. I’ll keep those for a while. I also found a meat slicer and a meat grinder that my parents gave me. I haven’t used them; I have not observed my parents use them since I was a preteen.
They are almost antiques, so I will let their value grow. In today’s world, the deli counter slices the meats, or they come in a pre-sliced package. Hamburgers are pre-ground and come packaged. I found ankle and wrist weights, barbells, and dumbbells (Dumb?) There are two other exercise machines for when I get motivated to get in shape! So far, the only weight I’ve lost with all this equipment is in my wallet!
I found a large box of stuff that is my daughter’s; she moved out years ago, built a house, and still does not have room for any of this stuff. I better wait till she comes over for a visit and has time to go through this stuff. I found a yearbook from High School that took about half an hour to look at and remember how my life was back in the day. I found a box of doggie stuff, old dog collars from dogs that are waiting over the Rainbow Bridge, torn Stuffy’s, and chewed-up nylon bones. I just cannot part with those memories.
On the 1st shelf, I found 4 electric heaters, great for an emergency if the power goes out, but being electric heaters, they won’t have any power, and that’s why I have a generator that helps in those situations. I have four more shelving units to check out, but as Whinny the Pooh says: “I feel rumbly in my tumbley! “Must be time for lunch and then a power nap!
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier 4/01/2024 Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer.” joelmvernier@aol.com
