Day 29 -- Catharsis

Motivated by a deep need for catharsis, I have decided to tackle the impossible and begin cleaning my room (and closet).  I am not talking a surface cleaning we all did when we were kids to appease our mom’s rant about cleaning our rooms up.  I am talking a very through, reorganizing of drawers, rearranging furniture and perhaps most cathartically – throwing away many, many things.  One hour into the project, I have not only already needed a break (don’t judge me too much, I haven’t done anything close to work in nearly a month) I have filled up a very large, industrialized-sized trash bag (the sorts they sell at Costco).  I believe this project will not only make me feel for a little bit like a productive member of society, there will be a therapeutic value in sorting through the odd parts of my life. 

As the pictures indicate, this is a monster project that ought to last until next year

So far here are some interesting items I have found by category, in the saving pile:

·         Five or six Indianapolis news papers from 1997 – I went the NCAA Final Four where my alma mater, the University of Arizona Wildcats made tournament history by becoming the first team to beat three number one cedes.

·         A pocket watch of my paternal grandmother’s that my father gave me on my thirtieth birthday to which he said he was going to wait until I got married but feared that would never happen (did I mention he said this in front of an entire party? And yes, I have told my therapist about the crack).  He also was insistent the pocket watch was a priceless heirloom.  My mom later shared she was very certain my grandmother bought it at Mervyn’s. 

·         Programs from funerals

·         Boxes of pictures (I might post some of them on Facebook if people aren’t careful)

·         Undeveloped rolls of film

·         A non-digital camera (soon to be an antique)

·         My birth certificate

·         The phone number, written on a coffee shop receipt, of the man who was my boss/got me my last job, given to me by a friend of a friend

·         A news paper clipping of a former student of mine who had a joke published in the LA Times’ old kid page.

·         The program from my Grad School Graduation

·         A note a former student wrote to me

·         A box of crayons

In the throwing out pile:

·         Wedding invitations, birth announcements and birthday or Christmas cards (except for the last birthday card my grandmother sent me before she died)

·         Concert and/or game ticket stubs

·         Notes from a conference I went to

·         Approximately two years of Sunset Magazines from the late 90’s

·         Bank statements from 2001

·         My health insurance policy from 2002

·         Mardi Gras beads

·         The number of a guy I met last new years

·         Self-affirmations written on an index cards I used to carry around in my pocket when I was going through a rough patch a while back