Old Things are Done Away

Last week I was watching the Today Show (my most referenced show when I bring up random information). They had this chef who said something about replacing all your spices and seasonings once a year. Uh...what? I thought spices kept for years and years. I don't know why I thought that...nobody told me that. I think I just thought that because I have spices that I've kept and used for years and years.

For example: This curry powder. Not only have I had this for years, I swiped it from my parents' house who have had it for years. I'm a little afraid to ask, but I'm pretty sure my mom got this as a wedding gift along with other expensive spices. That's 34 years ago. I'm not even kidding. There's no reason for me to have kept this for so long; a more current curry bottle sits in the cupboard.

This got me to thinking about other things I've held on to for much longer than I should have. I am NOT a pack rat. I like space and organization. I like to throw things away. In fact, I have a rule that if I have more clothes in my closet than hangers, something has to go (that's a loose rule, but it works pretty well).

But for some reason, after 7 years I still have these shoes. Owning shoes for 7 years isn't that strange, but owning THESE shoes for that long is. It's not like they're made from quality material -- they're not even cute. They cost me like $13 at Payless, but they've held up remarkably well. Except for the sole on the inside of the right shoe...I have to straighten it out every time I put it on, or else it bunches up. Why do I keep these? I have other shoes. Maybe I keep them because they're trashy and I don't care what happens to them. I should get rid of them.

Next we have these glasses of mine. Are they out of style? I don't even know anymore. I have two pairs of glasses: the newer ones I got about 3 years ago back when I paid for a vision plan. I probably wear those more often than these because the prescription is more accurate -- I guess, I can only assume so because I've had these black ones for about 6 years and one's prescription changes. I wear contact lenses about 75% of the time. A lot of my friends have joined the 21st century and gotten their eyes lasered. I've heard that pregnancy can change your vision and so I've been told to hold off until after I have kids. So I'm going to use that excuse instead of the real one which is that voluntarily having my eye cut open freaks me out.

Ah, the perfume. I don't even know how old this is. But Lisa probably does, because its hers. When she moved out of Mom and Dad's house (4 years ago?) she left this and so I adopted it into my possession. I've probably used it twice in the past 2 years. I'm not a big perfume wearer. I don't think perfume (in this form) is as popular as it used to be now that most girls slather themselves with smelly lotions. I also have Chanel Chance and Stila something or other. I remember a conversation with a couple guys last fall about perfume and how it smells different on different people. Maybe I should try it all on and have people smell me and let me know which ones I should get rid of. Of course, it's a matter of preference on the other end as well. Lis, if you want this perfume, its yours. Because it is. Yours.

OK, so this is a small blank book which I have no intention of getting rid of. I just can't believe I haven't filled it up yet. The first page is dated March 21, 2004 and I'm only about 30% through it. The reason I can't believe it's not used up is because I'm a big writer. I write a lot. Every day in fact. I started a daily journal when I was 21 and I would fill up a whole book in 3-4 months. I think I lapsed somewhere between 2005 and most of 2007 where I hardly wrote in my journal for reasons I'm not sure of. But I started again in November, and beginning in January I have been writing 3 lines every day in this 10-year journal I have. And then my blog keeps me writing about twice a week. But this book is different. I designated it as more of a church journal where I bring it to my Sunday meetings, institute, etc. and write down notes, impressions, etc. I guess I haven't been very good at that.

So those are some of my things that I just can't seem to get rid of. I'm giving Carri the curry canister because she wants to keep coins in it. Maybe I'll trash the shoes tonight. I'm going to keep the glasses because it would be stupid to throw them away. It's always a good idea to have a spare pair in case I lose or break the other ones. I have no reason to hold on to that perfume but I will. And I am committing myself to bring this little blank book to church every week and write something in it.