Simplifying

Started: 2010-09-23 08:16:47

Submitted: 2010-09-23 08:47:39

Visibility: World-readable

Between my local Freecycle group, and last weekend's community garage sale, I managed to get rid of most of the stuff floating around my basement that I really didn't want. Highlights included:

• An antique exercise bike for definitions of "antique" that include "older than me". I think we got this from Kiesa's grandfather when he moved a few years ago. This was the most popular item; I got five or six responses, despite their being able to click on the link and see what it looked like.
• A small, old CRT television, that Kiesa had in her apartment in college. We used this as our primary television until upgrading to:
• A larger CRT television (27" viewable), which we used from 2003 until 2008 when we upgraded to an HDTV. I set this tv up in the basement but never actually turned it on. Giving it away on the Internet saved me the trouble (and expense) of dragging it to CHaRM for proper disposal.
• Stereo cabinet that saw various uses throughout the years.
• TV stand that I picked up, for free, on the side of the road in 2003, and returned the favor by setting out, for free, on my curb during the weekend's garage sale.
• The microwave we purchased in 2004, a few months before moving from our apartment (without a built-in microwave) to our house (with a built-in microwave), rendering the old microwave useless. It lingered in the basement and in the garage for nearly six years before I finally got around to selling it at the community garage sale. The guy who bought it commented, "It looks like it's never been used," and I told him why.
• My GameCube, controllers, games, and a handful of old Wii games. I probably could have gotten a better price had I tried but I was more interested in getting out of the drizzle than getting the best price.

My net proceeds from the two hours I sat out in the drizzle was $20, enough for a cheap dinner. Just getting rid of the stuff was enough for me.

I did not manage to get rid of the two low-quality area rugs from my unfinished basement, which I flagged for disposal after installing carpet two years ago. The rugs are stained from our cats, and I haven't tried to clean the stains. I also have an old, 16-inch CRT monitor, and I don't use Ziyal's larger CRT monitor enough to justify keeping it.

And then there are the boxes of stuff in my basement that I don't really care about but don't want to get rid of. The Fourmile Canyon Fire reminded me to update my off-site backups and made me wonder if starting over, without the accumulated detritus I've collected, might not be such a bad idea after all.