cleaning out

Whenever I make it back home in Northport for more than 48 hours, I usually do a major cleaning out of my room. Now, why I need to do one of these atleast three times a year... I dooo not know, for I don't really think I consume much these days by way of clothes shopping, trinket buying, etc. Yet somehow, no matter how many garbage bags I fill, I miraculously find ways to fill more months down the road.

For the last few days I've been working on the same project, but I'd say that this clean-out session is my most serious one yet. Last time I tried to throw out my furby (that would STILL wake up and start talking in furby-language), my mom got all wide-eyed and sentimental on me and I stored it back in my closet. This time though, the furby has made it to the trash, after I successfully screwed out all its batteries so the thing would be forever mute. I'm putting an end to 14th birthday cards from second-cousins, pick up sticks from the 5th grade, and dust-laden jewelry boxes that have been empty for years. I don't need 400 index cards, 500 business envelopes, or seven erasable-pens (remember those?) Goodbye marching band hat (and feather!), participation-award soccer certificates, and plastic bead set. So long burned cd's that have been on my computer for tens of years, racing spikes and keys, and magazine subscription from 2007.

Amidst all the throwing out and donating, I've also found some great things I intend on keeping: five sticks of winterfresh Trident gum, a $50 savings bond, and my glasses (woops). Every youth center soccer picture "professionally'' taken since 1993, a nifty purple and gray sleeping bag, and Ziggy Palffy's autograph are also on this list.

On an odder note, I managed to somehow hide three comforters, four blankets, two sleeping bags, and five pillows in the confines of my room, which have all been placed in their respective piles: donate, trash, keep. I managed to have 57 hangers in my closet and six pairs of stockings and seven belts in my drawer. I don't hang things, wear belts, or wear stockings, so this one is a real mystery.

I have a bag that weighs close to seven tons of clothes, blankets, and boots that I will be donating, so it feels good that all the stuff I've managed to hoard will hopefully go to a better place. In the mean time, I can continue to see the world with 20/20 vision, fresh breath, and fifty extra bucks in my pocket.