This past weekend I got a bee in my bonnet to start sorting through things as I get ready for a move this year, once I buy a house. Instead of hitting my book shelves or closets for things to toss out, I had my eye on six items, three boxes and three baskets, and decided these would be my first targets. The contents of these six containers were all the category of “I don’t know where to put this… oh right here is good enough.” There weren’t always six at one point in time there was only one, but when that one filled up a second one appeared and the cycle repeated until six of these “I don’t know where to put this….oh right here is good enough” sat together on a small shelving system mocking me. I guess you could call me a neat clutter bug… everything seems to be put away but please don’t look in those baskets. I am trying to break this habit, but it did start early. I remember as a child being told to clean up my room. Everything looked tidy, surfaces of my desk and dresser were clean and organized. The book were all neatly lined up in my book case. But do not look under the bed nor in the toy closet, where everything was stuffed in order to achieve the illusion of neatness. So as I sat on my living room floor sorting out the 6 containers of stuff, feeling pretty much the same way I recalled as a child… “why do I do this? Why can’t I be neat” I chuckled and told myself that it was ok and as long as I made a decision about contents of the baskets and boxes I could go out and play (in this case it was to go watch the 49ers v Panthers playoff game with my friends.)
So you may be curious was in this basket and boxes. Mainly odds and ends. Instruction manuals, extra screws, nuts and bolts from furniture long ago assembled. There were office supplies and beauty supplies. A small collection of match books and trinkets saved for reasons that escape me now. A Ziploc bag held a large refrigerator magnet collection that reminded me of why I no longer collect magnets as souvenirs. There were bits and pieces of sporting gear (golf and running notably). In the last basket I came across some old cell phones and two canisters of 35 mm film. One of the canisters had been used the other was waiting for its turn in a camera. The old cell phones a Treo and a Krazer both “IT’ products in their day now almost seemed like toys for a child. Almost everything found its proper place or was thrown out or recycled. The two canisters of film held my attention. One holds the possibility of a small photo adventure. The other offers a window back in time, of at least nine years ago, to whatever event or adventure was captured at that moment. Now to find a photo developer, that may be easier said than done. After that I plan to dust off my old 35 mm SLR and go old school and shoot this one last roll.