I've always liked to think of myself as more of a pragmatist. If something was useful or I could foresee it being useful in the immediate future I'd keep it around...otherwise I'd throw it out. Not that I'm wasteful, but I just never thought of myself as someone who held onto things that I didn't need.
Yeah, when we moved into our new house last August I came to the realization that I was in fact a 'Pack-Rat'....or a crazy homeless guy. After the initial dust settled and we took a good look at all of the junk we'd brought over from our old place I realized that a lot of the junk I'd brought over was just that...JUNK. Not crazy junk, like 1 worn out left shoe, but junk nonetheless.
See after we moved everything in I realized that I had all these old boxes that I'd brought over that had nothing in them but the original styrofoam packaging. I'm talking about the box that my stereo came in, and the boxes for my computer, a globe that my family gave me for my 26th birthday, my original palm pilot, etc. I guess I'd thought that since these boxes and styrofoam packaging was specifically designed to protect these specific items, it was a good idea to keep them around for when I eventually had to move these items to a new place. Makes sense huh.
The funny thing is that when we actually made the move, I didn't use the boxes at all...I just wrapped everything up in old blankets. So I guess the joke was on me.
Another reason I guess I'd never gotten rid of all this junk was because you're really not supposed to throw styrofoam away in the regular garbage. I knew that it was bad for the environment, but had no idea what to do with it. So I held onto it.
And let me tell you the stereo I'd mentioned earlier was something I'd purchased back in 1999. Yup it was right after I finished my last semester at Cornell and was just starting to work again at NYL. I'd started making some money and decided to buy myself some new stuff. And the computer was from 2000 when me and Melissa first moved in together. And a bunch of those other boxes were from just as long ago.
So finally, after 11 years in some cases, I've decided to do something about all this junk I've accumulated. It wasn't as hard as I'd thought actually. I got all the styrofoam together into 1 big box...or rather 5 big boxes and 3 large garbage bags. I found a place in Springfield, NJ (right off 22) that would take it off my hands. And just like that my life was a little less cluttered.
Now all I have to do is get rid of these old computers and monitors I've somehow accumulated thinking I'd turn them into my robot minions!