Too Much Stuff Two: The Sequel

We've collected all the wrong stuff. We've saved all the wrong stuff. Why did we do it?  What are we to do with all this? I'm looking at our collection of one-thousand VCR tapes. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson with cassettes. Or perhaps not, since I still have a few dozen of those too.

Will I be stuck looking at the dratted things until the day I die? I wish I could do the same as we do with leftovers. ("I didn't like the meal, but I can't just toss this much food... so I'll put it in the refrigerator until it grows fuzz, then I'll toss it!") But alas. Tapes don't grow fuzz. They sit there in their cases forever. Even if the tape decomposes, fuzz will not result.

I could put them into boxes on the floor until Hubby trips on one and gets mad, then toss them. There are, however, four things wrong with that. One, I love Hubby and don't want him to trip. Two, the tapes might still be watchable. Three, doing anything with them would suck days out of my life, and I have a book to write. Four, there's no floor space left for boxes.

That's not all I collect. My beautiful Waterford crystal takes up 2 full shelves of the china cabinet, and china takes 4 more shelves. It's lovely, but I don't dare use any of it. Fears of lead content and radiation are valid enough that I don't need to go further. If I went further, I would mention dishwashers and microwaves. We use them constantly. They are the natural enemies of fine china and crystal. Nuf said.

Also lovely are my numerous collections of figurines, knick-knacks, and breakables. They were never meant to be used for anything. They're just for looks. Some are cherished mementos of my grandmas and my great-aunt, which means I'll be keeping them. Together with the crystal and dishes, that's 4 china cabinets full plus 4 cupboards plus any other storage and display space I can find.

Then there's stuff we saved because "you can't toss stuff that cost us so much." We have tons of old computer stuff. 3 1/4 floppies? We have hundreds. CD-ROMS? At leads a thousand. The old computers themselves? Many. Oh, and the cables! Parallel cables, Serial cables, SCSI cables, and proprietary cables for dozens of peripherals. The cables alone take up 4 big boxes.

Nor did we toss the peripherals. Our 1992 modems were quite the speedy dial-up connectors back in the day. And those zippy 4x CD-ROM players? Totally rad once. Now they take up space. No doubt they still work, but with what? And again, they cost so much money when we bought them.

Of course there are things we might actually need mixed among the useless stuff, so throwing it away by the boxload is not an option. I need to sort. But If I did, I'd want Hubby to participate, and he would have a fit if I threw away any of his 'stuff,' unless it flat-out didn't work. Sigh.

I thought I had the answer a few blogs back. Sell tickets to view the incredible mess... er, 'collections.' An even earlier blog advises, "Buy nothing and have the money." Alas, nobody listens to my advice, even me.