Addition By Subtraction

Addition By Subtraction

From time to time I may be critical of Mrs. C’s reticence to throw anything away.  I might have from time to time mentioned how painful it is that we pay skiddly-eight dollars a month for a storage unit that contains on a good day way less than skiddly-eight dollars of crap.

I try not to make too big a deal about this expense as marital discord is way more expensive than skiddly-eight dollars a month.  My divorces alone cost me at least forty thousand-skiddly-eight dollars.

Mrs. C is worth way more than skiddly-eight dollars a month. 

I do occasionally complain about clutter in the house which is the result of saving every piece of crap she has ever purchased and the box it came in on.   I should complain less than I do, because a good relationship is worth way more than putting up with a little clutter.

This weekend, Mrs. C miraculously decided to declutter a basement storage/office area.  I know how difficult this was for her as I have quit nail biting, smoking and excessive drinking. 

I am very proud of her.

She tossed boxes of party hats and noise makers from NYE 2004.  She tossed bank statements from 2002-2011 and work manuals from a bank she left in 1997.  She consolidated boxes and tossed cartons with contents unknown but with best-used-by dates from last century.

Amid all the crap she jettisoned she did find some interesting stuff. 

She found a picture of a very young Mrs.  C with Captain Jack McCarthy of 1960’s “Popeye Theater “cartoon fame.  If you grew up in the NYC area way back when, you would be impressed.  Apparently, there was a class trip to NYC involved.

She was excited to find recipes from her Mom for ziti, lasagna, stuffed shells, proper gravy and stuffing.  She has these recipes in her head, but apparently the actual copies from her mother are special.  She has been looking for them for years.

I expected she would find some money, she often hordes currency away like a squirrel and then forgets about it.  Not large sums mind you, but often enough for dinner out.  Unfortunately, she found only coins.  About $4.75 worth, not counting about 150 wheat pennies which are made of all copper.  They are probably worth $1.75 now, but in 30 years…who knows.

The room still is a mess, but you can actually move around in it and even reach some stored items which are not crap.  Addition by subtraction.

It is a start.