Hoarders: Barringer-Style

Song of the Day: Red Light by Jonny Lang

I really, truly believed that during our last move we did a good job sorting and donating and throwing out. It appears that towards the end of that sorting-donating-throwing-out process, I just threw things into bags and said, I'll get to it later. Well, later has arrived, and yesterday, I finished the job I started a year ago. I think.

Both Fitz and I hang onto things. We're both hoarders, but in different ways. I tend to keep paper. I still have instructions for how to set up my voicemail on my work phone back at Kenan-Flagler Business School. I have old pay stubs from 2009. And I have cards. Mountains of cards. Cards I got in the mail when I was a freshman at Carolina. Now, disclaimer: I can't throw the cards away, I'm just going to put them in a box neatly. For instance, I have a card from my grandmother in Charlotte thanking me for bringing Chick-fil-A for lunch and my new boyfriend named Fitz by to meet her and granddaddy. No way I'm throwing that away. That's sentimental and lovely.

But I could part with the voicemail instructions. And the pay stubs landed in the shredder pile.

Best gift ever to a law school graduate: a shredder. Thanks Mom!

Now, Fitz's hoarding is of a different kind.  Let me show you what I mean:

Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, shower caps. We could start a B&B.

And these are the ones he's keeping. The others made it to the trash before I realized we should document this.

They do come in handy when we're traveling.

Also, in the back of Fitz's side of the closet lay hidden a bag containing at least a dozen pairs of new socks. This is why the old, holey socks must go. Because he already has replacements, still in their wrappings.

I won't even mention the golf balls.

OK, there were A LOT of golf balls.

I have a hard time letting go of the past, i.e. "Oh, remember this bookmark that I bought back in 2005?" and Fitz has a hard time letting go because of the future, i.e. "One day this shower cap will come in handy." We're working towards meeting in the middle in the present. I don't need a bookmark, and Fitz has never once in his life used a shower cap. If he does, I'll document that, too.