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psipsyEvery now and then, I'll actually get rid of things. For example, this time around I'm eyeing a big pile of anime magazines from the 1990s and early 2000s. They were relevant and informative when they came out. Now their only value is in nostalgia. I think I may have found a new home for them, which is good. So I'll hold onto them until then.
A big pile of computer magazines from when processors had not yet reached the 1GHz range. In the face of a modern technological arms race that evolves on a daily basis, what relevance do they have in this day and age? Out they go.
Car magazines from when OBD-II was a new thing. Many of the featured cars have since seen their glory days, faded from the scene, and possibly scrapped. I'm learning first-hand that parts for 20 year-old cars are getting scarce.
Surplus program guides from conventions I’ve been to and not been to. Do I really need 5 extra copies of a convention I went to in 2002? It might have been fun, but was it THAT fun?
Recently, I found a box of comic books got damaged by water, to the point that they were unreadable and certainly not collectible by any measure. I only felt bad that it happened at all and not about heaving them into the dumpster, mainly because the decision on what to do with them was technically made for me. By then it was the only thing I could do with them. They were lost. Were they ever collectible? The market for comics and collectibles was ephemeral at best up until 2007/2008, when everything went to hell and never really came back out. Nostalgia paid the bills only when the bills were already paid.
Statements for credit cards and bank accounts long since closed. It was a good idea at the time to keep those statements out of the hands of those with less-than-honorable intentions, but after the account is closed, it's just ink on paper. Anything with my SSN or driver's license number needs properly shredded, though.
Travel magazines describing places I'll never visit. Maps for states I zoomed through. Food magazines with recipes for dishes I'll never prepare. Notes for projects from my tech school days. On one hand, it's a waste to toss away what could be a spark of inspiration or novelty as the items intended. On the other, it's that much less distraction and if I REALLY want to look it up, there are websites for that. Rather than bounce from one path to another, I'll just stick with this one.
So far I'm up to at least three boxes full of paper ripe for recycling. If/when I go back through it later (I should give it all a good proper sort more thorough than "keep or toss"), I'll probably find more to cull. I'm alright with that.
A big pile of computer magazines from when processors had not yet reached the 1GHz range. In the face of a modern technological arms race that evolves on a daily basis, what relevance do they have in this day and age? Out they go.
Car magazines from when OBD-II was a new thing. Many of the featured cars have since seen their glory days, faded from the scene, and possibly scrapped. I'm learning first-hand that parts for 20 year-old cars are getting scarce.
Surplus program guides from conventions I’ve been to and not been to. Do I really need 5 extra copies of a convention I went to in 2002? It might have been fun, but was it THAT fun?
Recently, I found a box of comic books got damaged by water, to the point that they were unreadable and certainly not collectible by any measure. I only felt bad that it happened at all and not about heaving them into the dumpster, mainly because the decision on what to do with them was technically made for me. By then it was the only thing I could do with them. They were lost. Were they ever collectible? The market for comics and collectibles was ephemeral at best up until 2007/2008, when everything went to hell and never really came back out. Nostalgia paid the bills only when the bills were already paid.
Statements for credit cards and bank accounts long since closed. It was a good idea at the time to keep those statements out of the hands of those with less-than-honorable intentions, but after the account is closed, it's just ink on paper. Anything with my SSN or driver's license number needs properly shredded, though.
Travel magazines describing places I'll never visit. Maps for states I zoomed through. Food magazines with recipes for dishes I'll never prepare. Notes for projects from my tech school days. On one hand, it's a waste to toss away what could be a spark of inspiration or novelty as the items intended. On the other, it's that much less distraction and if I REALLY want to look it up, there are websites for that. Rather than bounce from one path to another, I'll just stick with this one.
So far I'm up to at least three boxes full of paper ripe for recycling. If/when I go back through it later (I should give it all a good proper sort more thorough than "keep or toss"), I'll probably find more to cull. I'm alright with that.
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no subject
Date: 2015-09-30 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-30 07:24 am (UTC)Although I should have also mentioned the trunkload of failed/obsolete electronics that are staged for recycling or donation.