WWTBAM Bored

We're replacing the 25-year-old carpets for the upstairs rooms, which includes two bedrooms, the computer area, the hallway and the stairs going up (down, too). Only our room will remain the same. As a result, we have to move as many things as we can out of the areas being redone. The carpeting folks will move the big stuff, though I have no idea where or how.

Meanwhile, we're using the opportunity to toss, recycle or donate items from both upstairs and down. We've filled both the recycle and trash bins for the last three collections of each. Furniture, clothing and other stuff that's been collecting dust have gone to various charitable organizations. All the books, papers, boxes of photos, bookcases, tables, and so forth have been moved to the lower floors. Lotsa storage boxes now in the basement. And we've only just started de-cluttering.

BTW, the upstairs is newer than the downstairs. We added the second floor 25 years ago. We've been in the house 35 years. Lots more stuff to sort through once the carpet is refreshed. Good times.

I go on the 2-year rule: If you haven't seen it, missed it or looked for it in over 2 years - it gets tossed.

Of course there is always the 2-year rule subsection A which states: "Any item tossed after being stored for 2+ years will be needed within three weeks of said tossing"

But it's good to clear things out. Major changes are helpful for that. The Jaybee household is at the start of a massive tossing / donating / Craigslisting frenzy spurred on by the middle child now living in Sydney AU, the oldest child about to leave for the Air Force with only the youngest college student still living at home. We have fantasies of being able to walk around in the once-empty storage room above the garage.

Get a wand scanner and scan the paper that are sentimental -- kids' drawings, etc. -- then toss the physical paper. Download the SIM card to the computer, then copy to a USB drive and boom, two copies without paper.

That's what we did with articles I'd written (not available online) and interesting articles that I wanted to keep. I did keep a couple paper versions, but about an eight (or less) of what it was. We have physical paper for important documents but everything else is in three places - backup hard drive, USB drive and computer. Some is in cloud storage.

Craft stuff I never use, books, tables (too many of them not serving a practical enough purpose), other furniture and clothes all went to the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service and Education thrift store in Northeast Philly. Oh, and some ceramics that TLAF made. Kept the beloved Christmas stuff, a Halloween witch, an Easter cross and a small bunny. Everything else to the veterans.

The toughest thing for us was downsizing the books. And certain beloved books will never go (The copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn bought for 50 cents at the stands outside the old Leary's Bookstore in Cent ercity Philadelphia. And its French counterpart, bought in Tahiti on a Tic-Tac-Dough trip). But new-ish things that we can get/borrow for the Kindle were a different story.

The two-year rule is a pretty good one.