Renaissance
Over the past two years, I have gone through a lot of changes. Some might say that I have done a 180 (I love it when people say 360 when they mean 180 -- idiots) as it pertains to where my life was headed. I certainly don't think that this 180 talk applies to my own situation... in fact, I can very easily trace how every moment in my life has lead to this exact one...
Pfffffffttttttthh... Yeah right! Wouldn't it be hilarious if I was the type of person to get that sentimentally philosophical about life? Ha!
I am, however, continuing to "change." Unless, "adapt" is a better word. "Grow?" Okay. I'm voting for "grow."
I am continuing to grow. The next step in this growth process is to sell a whole crapload of my belongings. Not important stuff, like my toothbrush and bed; rather, I need to get rid of things that I own that aren't used. And there are a lot of such things.
This is not a new concept. In fact, I have been thinking about doing this for some time. However, it wasn't until a friend posted on facebook that she needed a couch for her new apartment. To which I replied, "You can buy my couch."
My couch, among other things, is something that I own that I don't use. I can honestly tell you that the only times I have touched my couch in the past six or ten months is to clean cat hair off of it. I haven't even sat on the couch in that time period. Previous to that, I only sat on it a few times a month to watch a movie.
So, I sold my couch. I will not be buying a new one and this confuses some people. I assert, however, that there is no point in owning something that isn't used and the money that I am getting from the sale of the couch is going to give me more satisfaction in the short and long-term than the couch has in quite some time.
The random couch sale has been the spring board, so-to-speak, in the preparation of selling other things that I don't use. My TV, for example, hasn't even been turned on since the last time I sat on the couch and watched a movie. In a previous post (from about a year and a half ago), I wrote about the getting-rid-of cable. The TV remained mostly unused since that point.
Over the years, I have collected a bunch of crap. I have collected a bunch of really cool things... but, I have also collected a bunch of crap. It's time to say good-bye to the crap. I have a large collection of fantasy-related stuff. Okay, it's Lord of the Rings collectible things. I have a sword, for instance, and a bunch of statues that are displayed throughout the house. There is also a flag, a map, and tapestry throw pillows (that take a lot of slack from friends*).
I still have two dresser drawers full of Don Mattingly (my favorite baseball player, way back when having a favorite baseball player was important) memorabilia, which includes baseball cards, Staring Lineup figurines, and plaques.
There are two desks in my house, which pretty much only serve as places for me to stack things that I don't use and don't know what to do with. Each desk has a chair that I haven't sat on in over a year if not more. One of the chairs is stacked with clothing that I don't feel like folding and haven't worn in forever.
Speaking of clothing, I cleaned my closet out over a year ago and filled two garbage bags with clothes that I don't wear. The garbage bags are in a corner of my bedroom and have yet to be moved to goodwill. There's also a bunch of old suits or suits that don't fit me properly that are in my closet. I bet I could put these on sale at a consignment shop and make some money from them... but I'd have to actually take them to a consignment shop...
I think the collectible stuff is going to be tough to deal with. They have a high intrinsic value to me (at least, they used to) and I don't want to just give them away or throw them out. The Lord of the Rings sword that I own is a limited edition (only 5,000 made) and has got to be worth more than it was purchased for… if I can’t sell it for more, I’m going to be depressed.
Still, this stuff has to be gone. Call it a renaissance if you will or a 180. I'm in the process of growing and all of this stuff is stunting my growth.
*RE: the tapestry Lord of the Rings pillows -- they are great pillows (ie: big, comfortable) and have been on my couch for years. I did not buy them. They were a gift... and when I received the gift, my eyes went big with trepidation (you mean, we are going to put these where people can see them?!? REALLY?). Now that I have no couch, I have little use for throw pillows, let alone, Lord of the Rings tapestry pillows.
Pfffffffttttttthh... Yeah right! Wouldn't it be hilarious if I was the type of person to get that sentimentally philosophical about life? Ha!
I am, however, continuing to "change." Unless, "adapt" is a better word. "Grow?" Okay. I'm voting for "grow."
I am continuing to grow. The next step in this growth process is to sell a whole crapload of my belongings. Not important stuff, like my toothbrush and bed; rather, I need to get rid of things that I own that aren't used. And there are a lot of such things.
This is not a new concept. In fact, I have been thinking about doing this for some time. However, it wasn't until a friend posted on facebook that she needed a couch for her new apartment. To which I replied, "You can buy my couch."
My couch, among other things, is something that I own that I don't use. I can honestly tell you that the only times I have touched my couch in the past six or ten months is to clean cat hair off of it. I haven't even sat on the couch in that time period. Previous to that, I only sat on it a few times a month to watch a movie.
So, I sold my couch. I will not be buying a new one and this confuses some people. I assert, however, that there is no point in owning something that isn't used and the money that I am getting from the sale of the couch is going to give me more satisfaction in the short and long-term than the couch has in quite some time.
The random couch sale has been the spring board, so-to-speak, in the preparation of selling other things that I don't use. My TV, for example, hasn't even been turned on since the last time I sat on the couch and watched a movie. In a previous post (from about a year and a half ago), I wrote about the getting-rid-of cable. The TV remained mostly unused since that point.
Over the years, I have collected a bunch of crap. I have collected a bunch of really cool things... but, I have also collected a bunch of crap. It's time to say good-bye to the crap. I have a large collection of fantasy-related stuff. Okay, it's Lord of the Rings collectible things. I have a sword, for instance, and a bunch of statues that are displayed throughout the house. There is also a flag, a map, and tapestry throw pillows (that take a lot of slack from friends*).
I still have two dresser drawers full of Don Mattingly (my favorite baseball player, way back when having a favorite baseball player was important) memorabilia, which includes baseball cards, Staring Lineup figurines, and plaques.
There are two desks in my house, which pretty much only serve as places for me to stack things that I don't use and don't know what to do with. Each desk has a chair that I haven't sat on in over a year if not more. One of the chairs is stacked with clothing that I don't feel like folding and haven't worn in forever.
Speaking of clothing, I cleaned my closet out over a year ago and filled two garbage bags with clothes that I don't wear. The garbage bags are in a corner of my bedroom and have yet to be moved to goodwill. There's also a bunch of old suits or suits that don't fit me properly that are in my closet. I bet I could put these on sale at a consignment shop and make some money from them... but I'd have to actually take them to a consignment shop...
I think the collectible stuff is going to be tough to deal with. They have a high intrinsic value to me (at least, they used to) and I don't want to just give them away or throw them out. The Lord of the Rings sword that I own is a limited edition (only 5,000 made) and has got to be worth more than it was purchased for… if I can’t sell it for more, I’m going to be depressed.
Still, this stuff has to be gone. Call it a renaissance if you will or a 180. I'm in the process of growing and all of this stuff is stunting my growth.
*RE: the tapestry Lord of the Rings pillows -- they are great pillows (ie: big, comfortable) and have been on my couch for years. I did not buy them. They were a gift... and when I received the gift, my eyes went big with trepidation (you mean, we are going to put these where people can see them?!? REALLY?). Now that I have no couch, I have little use for throw pillows, let alone, Lord of the Rings tapestry pillows.