Trash or Treasure, You decide

My Clean up-Scavenger Hunt

I have trash and treasures stored in a rented building.

Have you ever watched one of the shows where the people are hoarders? I have watched and always find myself critical.  It seems to me they should immediately throw trash away before it rents space in their home.  I rented a storage unit for my trash and treasures.

 When I moved from a big house, I sold massive and beautiful pieces of furniture. Wow! Eliminating the big pieces made me feel I had managed quiet well. I kept the things I planned to use. They needed a place to live for awhile, so I rented a storage building.

Storage Building

Monday, I worked in my storage building.  My plan was to  remove all trash  and be ready to keep or give some  treasures.  The building is full and I thought it was organized. It is a mess.  My treasures and trash have resided there for over 4 years!

Hours later, hot and dirty, I left.  Did I make progress? Yes, but it just cleared the surface.  Unfortunately, every container demanded my hands and eyes in order to  find my own treasures and discard the rest.  Cleanup will take  a few days.

What is in My Storage?

If you are considering downsizing or just plain tidying up, let me share my story with you:

In the storage building there are 5 huge  boxes of paper. Yep, paper.  Granted some papers and files were supposed to be kept for 3 years. They have lived in storage for 4 years. Therefore, they are destined to become  a beautiful burn pile.

Next, a friend had given me a neat  two drawer file cabinet. I was sure I could spray paint it and use it someday. Reluctantly, I put it on the list of my Trash. A beautiful bookcase with the flimsy back off stood against the wall. To repair, the back board needs to be attached.  In addition,  the shelves are somewhere in the building.  The complete bookcase will be my trash and someones treasure.

Where do Treasures Hide

Once in Marble, N.C. a wise gentleman stopped along the side of the road where a couch was thrown away. Popping out his knife, he began to slash the arms and low and behold, little coins and some dollars fell out.  He said old couches were banks for money. Now, I look for money in things I love.

I love little jars.  Spice jars, jelly jars, jars with sauce any little jars. So, it was no surprise,  money was sleeping in a spice jar.

 

 

Treasures Hide In Memories

Memories are most important.  Every penny I paid for  storage was well spent because  hundreds of pictures, some in albums and some loose are there. I found $17.00 in this bottle!

My Mother’s Bible…worn and with a little kleenex is in a container.  I know she would have it open to some scripture maybe this one…..

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ So God granted him what he requested.”   1 Chronicles 4:10

Oh, her picture is there and while thinking of her, I could smell her perfume.

Proof of family time came in the form of pictures, old school certificates and plane tickets. Yes, I confess, so much useless paper like used plane tickets, receipts, old unread magazines and stuff all over the place.

Toward the end of my packing career, I put some things in cardboard boxes.  Don’t use cardboard boxes.  They draw moisture, odor and if you don’t use some type of bug spray the bugs will take residence in them.’

Do I recommend Purging?  Yes!

Purging is a physical detox.  Finally, you let go of “stuff” that once held importance.

Now, be honest…as spring comes to a close, isn’t there something in your house that needs to claim the garbage can as home?  While doing your spring cleaning maybe you would like to do what I did…

I cleared some cobwebs from my mind by throwing away newspaper articles, some greeting cards (well, I couldn’t part with all of them)  tickets to events, and just random notes. Other things, I will not use immediately, will become someone else’s treasure.

The future awaits the arrival of my Treasures and …..some lucky person will eagerly accept my Trash. Possible treasures include a keyboard, ironing board, iron, extra set of dishes, some random cookware and jars, and bottles and glasses! Oh, there is a bookcase, many books, new shoes and lots more.

Christmas items and other holiday decor is stored.

Key question to ask when determining Trash or Treasure is:  Can it be replaced?  Any Yes, designated the item for the Trash.   What causes things to become a burden?  Life happenings create change and eliminate needs. So, divorce, death, end of a season of friendship, maturity, or just plain obsolete things become a burden.

Instead of paying storage on things I have no desire to keep, I have a disposal plan. I will post an ad…offering to gift great things, awful things and necessary home items to some lucky person…Come and get it for $25.00. The catch is you must take my  Trash as well as your Treasure find!

Want to come to my scavenger hunt?  Come on, it’s in the beautiful State of Tennessee!  Let’s

Go forth and Prosper

Molinda Sue