A journey into cleaning up a big pile of..... hoard
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Boxed In
by Janet S. Tiger
(c) 2015 all rights reserved
tigerteam1@gmail.com
Two days ago, I tussled with the dreaded plastic bag question - to toss or not to toss? Today is recycle day - and I am re-examining my obsession with boxes.
Don't get me wrong, I think bags and boxes are two of the greatest inventions of mankind - right up there with anti-biotics and the wheel - but my hoarding proclivity is much more tested by the bags and boxes. (Very hard to hoard anti-biotics and wheels)
In the clean-up, I have noticed a shifting of the empty boxes. Like a shift in power, the empty boxes take up room - and often (like empty barrels) make the most noise. How, you ask, does an empty box make noise? Easy, I reply, it falls down. And at inopportune moments. Like on my head (I have stacked them high!) and late at night, when small animals from the nearby canyon visit my driveway.
And worse ( notice how it is always possible to get worse when discussing clutter?) my sister has frightened me about the boxes. Payback, I suppose. This is the same organized sister I frightened when she was little, and allowed her to watch scary movies - the same (only!) sister who I scared with tales of the gorilla with the eyes that glowed in the dark.
She has turned the tables and told me scary stories about ...bad things.....that happen in the driveway when I am not around to watch. Things about....cardboard boxes......and ....bugs.
That bugs are outside, and they like cardboard......and they like to move in to nice cardboard boxes, and....lay eggs. So that, once a box has been outside, there is no chance of redemption. Ever.
I cry. Well, maybe not cry, but shed a silent tear. The fear I need to address is the worry....will I have enough boxes for a move? Well, I moved last June. And I plan to stay put for awhile. So, I take the photo, and rid myself of two of the (seemingly) healthy boxes, before there are bugs.
The sadness wells up in me....maybe I can leave them out for others to use? But my inner good neighbor admits that I would not want bug filled boxes to store stuff. So they go......goodbye boxes who have served me ....I knew ye well.
(Okay, maybe I used that quote elsewhere, but words, now those can be recycled! When I think about how 26 letters can be re-used.....infinity times!......I feel much better. Now - on to a weekend of clearing out - everyone, have a great one! I plan to enjoy....as I am no longer so....wait for it....boxed in........)
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Two days ago, I tussled with the dreaded plastic bag question - to toss or not to toss? Today is recycle day - and I am re-examining my obsession with boxes.
Don't get me wrong, I think bags and boxes are two of the greatest inventions of mankind - right up there with anti-biotics and the wheel - but my hoarding proclivity is much more tested by the bags and boxes. (Very hard to hoard anti-biotics and wheels)
In the clean-up, I have noticed a shifting of the empty boxes. Like a shift in power, the empty boxes take up room - and often (like empty barrels) make the most noise. How, you ask, does an empty box make noise? Easy, I reply, it falls down. And at inopportune moments. Like on my head (I have stacked them high!) and late at night, when small animals from the nearby canyon visit my driveway.
And worse ( notice how it is always possible to get worse when discussing clutter?) my sister has frightened me about the boxes. Payback, I suppose. This is the same organized sister I frightened when she was little, and allowed her to watch scary movies - the same (only!) sister who I scared with tales of the gorilla with the eyes that glowed in the dark.
She has turned the tables and told me scary stories about ...bad things.....that happen in the driveway when I am not around to watch. Things about....cardboard boxes......and ....bugs.
That bugs are outside, and they like cardboard......and they like to move in to nice cardboard boxes, and....lay eggs. So that, once a box has been outside, there is no chance of redemption. Ever.
I cry. Well, maybe not cry, but shed a silent tear. The fear I need to address is the worry....will I have enough boxes for a move? Well, I moved last June. And I plan to stay put for awhile. So, I take the photo, and rid myself of two of the (seemingly) healthy boxes, before there are bugs.
The sadness wells up in me....maybe I can leave them out for others to use? But my inner good neighbor admits that I would not want bug filled boxes to store stuff. So they go......goodbye boxes who have served me ....I knew ye well.
(Okay, maybe I used that quote elsewhere, but words, now those can be recycled! When I think about how 26 letters can be re-used.....infinity times!......I feel much better. Now - on to a weekend of clearing out - everyone, have a great one! I plan to enjoy....as I am no longer so....wait for it....boxed in........)
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Janet S. Tiger 858-736-6315
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8
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