To throw or save — that is the question.
Each of us has his and her own predilections as to whether something is to be saved or thrown out.
That being said, I will talk about the only person I have control over, me.
I see myself as a saver. I built a floor in the attic where I can stack my stuff, mostly in large plastic boxes on high. I have two 4-drawer file cabinets in the garage where I have saved just about all my bills, statements and other papers. I have wall-length storage cabinets in the garage for things I feel I might need often: tools, car stuff, holiday stuff, office stuff.
Everything was going smoothly in the saving (hoarding) department until this past Monday.
What happened on Monday? I turned 70, and immediately (as soon as I awoke) I saw my whole world ahead of me. My whole world, I realized, was a new chapter – THE FINAL CHAPTER. Yes, I hope to live to be 120. But that is still the final chapter – from 70 to 120. In reality, I hope I have about 20 “good” years to go. “Wake up,” I must have told myself on Monday morning. “Wake up and fly right.”
I went straight to the garage and hauled huge handfuls of papers from the first file cabinet. Armed with plastic garbage bags, and with the large blue “recycle” garbage can next to me, I began tossing papers I had saved for years. I scanned papers and selected them for shredding if they revealed my ID information but, now that I have signed up with Lifelock, I felt armed against identity theft should I have missed something. “Here’s a pile of bills from 2002.” Whoosh – into the can. “Here’s a stack of bank statements from 2005.” Whoop – into the can. I went at it for hours, it seems.
Yes, I saved some papers that I felt I needed time to think about. But that pile was minuscule compared with the pile of papers in that can. I was proud of myself.
I expect I‘ll continue to throw stuff. It’s going to be a new hobby.
What is it – besides the “shock” of realizing my age – that motivates me? I now recognize what I haven’t been able to accept before: The old stuff – it’s out of date, and I am better off buying a new item if I really need it. So, why keep the old stuff. And old papers – well, the banks and other companies keep electronic records if they are ever needed.
I think I will pin this essay where I can see it easily and often. I may need a reminder once in awhile to stop and think: “Do I really want to save this?”
Perhaps I have made you think about what you save and what you throw?
What’s in your file cabinet?
Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com
