It’s not an easy task and it’s a real hard work to throw away old- and- used stuffs that have not only served us well but also made our life easy and comfortable.
And for some sentimental reasons, it’s doubly difficult to detach ourselves emotionally as we begin de-cluttering our homes of these worn-out worldly possessions.
We could not easily get rid of these old stuffs simply because for years and years of serving us kindly, they’ve become part of our life.
I myself, have experienced that the very act of de-cluttering our house of these used goods—clothes, electronic and digital products, books and magazines, households appliances, and items, furniture, cars, et cetera— is both emotionally and physically draining.
Just the other day, I went up to our attic to get some blankets, which we’re readying for use, as the weather is getting colder and colder these days. Once I got there, I had to tiptoe my way because lots of stuffs were blocking my path. But to my amazement, I found lots of used goods that have been stashed away in that small space above our ceiling.
Once up there in the attic, I had some sort of an ocular inspection and to my surprise, I found so many items there — used clothes packed in see-through plastic bags, wooden chairs, radios, speakers, Underwood Typewriter, old PC computers, travelling bags, vacuum cleaners, steam iron, guitar, various types of electrical wires and sockets, books and magazines, rice cooker, bulbs of various shapes and sizes, woods, lamp shades, paintings, picture frames, shoes, plastic containers, hundred of clothes hangers, toys ,door knobs, big and small clocks and many more.
These stuffs are the things we have accumulated through the years and most of these used items are obsolete, old, damaged, and worn-out; they certainly have outlived their usefulness in spite of serving us well.
Well, what more could I say except “ you name it– and I have it” all in the attic.
But don’t get wrong, and I want to be clear on this– that we are not rich; we are just an ordinary family working hard to make a decent living.
The hard reality we face now is how easily could we discard these worldly possessions that are cluttering our home– and adding to the problem is that we cannot bring ourselves to toss them away sooner or later.
Our usual inclination is to temporarily keep these stuffs, thinking that maybe someday we might find the right people needing these goods. Even if these are used goods, but still we could not just throw them away in the garbage; there’s always a feeling that withholds us from casting them off—and I think the right word for it is “sayang”.
I don’t know the right English equivalent for this word sayang to fully capture the real essence of this feeling of hesitancy–that is finding it hard to throw away old-obsolete- and-used stuffs. We’d always think that instead of junking these goods outright, it would be much better, giving away them to some people who might be able to re- use these stuffs, thereby giving them a new lease of life,
But this time, I have to do something about these old and used goods in our midst—and I know I’m not getting any younger, so while I still have the strength to go up and down the attic and the good eyes to sort these goods out, I’ve begun lately de-cluttering our dwelling place.
Just yesterday, the Diabetic Society picked up four bagful of assorted goods, maybe some of my old pants and other clothes were in those bags; well, I’m not sure because it was my wife who had picked them out and packed in the bags. Had I given a chance to peer through these bags, I could have stopped her from donating them simply because I would prefer that I wear these clothes until they get worn out.
In the past, we have donated some these used stuffs to Goodwill, sent to some relatives back home and given away books and magazines to our alma mater. But still, these efforts have not been enough to de-clutter our house. We need an honest-to-goodness determination to reclaim our home’s spaces that have been lost to these clutters.
Frankly, I don’t really know how will I end this column except in saying that right now I’m so tired busily sorting out and packing these used and soon-to-be discarded stuffs.
So, my dear readers see you soon after I’ve regained my strength.
(williejose1@gmail.com)
