More Bedsheets

Day 15: More Bedsheets

A man with a baseball cap, a friendly smile and a fringe of gray hair came over to ask me if everything was okay when I had the contents of my car spread out in the parking lot at the Holiday Inn. I explained about my project - getting rid of one thing a day for a year - and he laughed. "If I got rid of one thing a day, it would be 3,000 years before I ran out of stuff."

As I've imagined this project unfolding, I've fantasized about the lightness I will feel as my house is relieved of its burden of stuff. I've imagined that as the year progresses, it will gradually be harder and harder to find stuff to get rid of. I've joked that in a year, we might be living in a tent, with just two of every article of clothing, a camp stove, a mess kit, a sleeping bag, a toothbrush and a flashlight. I thought Rich and I might have some conflict as I cut deeper into the stockpile of stuff.

Then I noticed this:

More bedsheets! These have been tucked away on a high shelf, out of sight and out of mind, for years.  TJ has come and gone, spiriting away sheets for the animal shelter. I've since learned that the Thrift Shop or Goodwill can actually resell any textile to rag pickers, who in turn ship them to third world countries (if they're good enough to salvage but not good enough to sell on the resale market in the U.S.) or recycle them for home insulation (if they're trashed). I know what to do.

But that's not the point. The point is, I own a whole shelf of sheets I had completely forgotten.

Our pleasant modest house

Already day 15, and ideas for stuff to get rid of are crowding my brain. Teapots and tea cozies! Towels! Trays! Trinkets! Tablecloths! Single earrings, silver bracelets, watches! Nail polish, dental floss, perfume! Suitcases, briefcases, grocery bags! Furniture! Pens, games, puzzles! Embroidery hoops, yarns, fabrics! Water pistols, basketballs, badminton sets! Water bottles, vases, dinner plates! Watering cans, composters, tomato stakes! Coolers, canoes, greeting cards! Books! Books! Books! CDs and VHS tapes! Musical instruments and sheet music! Speakers, iPods, receivers! Rugs, baskets, space heaters! An entire rental house! Thermoses and travel mugs! Camping gear! Coffee pots, cocoa sets, food! Toothbrushes, plastic cups, cleaning supplies! Dog crates, leashes, bowls! Pots and pans! Cameras, computers, a GPS! Athletic gear! Hole punch, stapler, protractor, compass, ruler! Gloves, hats, scarves! Picture frames, posters, potted plants! Purses! Pillows! Coats! Flower pots! Binoculars! Shoes!

Look at my house. It's a nice house, but it's not a mansion. We have a nice life, but we're not rich.

Now I have a new fear. What if I get rid of something every day ... and nobody notices?