Donating, Decluttering, Disaster

Mr. FS is driving to Tuscaloosa to pick up Miss Em. The rest of the semester has been canceled; finals are optional. Miss Em emailed a request list from the United Way: food, toiletries, clothing, linens, the usual.

So I am filling boxes and Mr. FS will drop them off at the collection centers. As usual, I need a kick in the butt to get around to giving back, paying forward, whatever you want to call it. I am sorry to say that I occasionally feel the pull of the object and resist giving it away. That's usually no big deal, but, in this case, the opportunity is now. By the time we return in the fall, the need will be much less. I have to force myself at times to let the object go.

Lesson 1 was the pull of the object. Lesson 2 was/is the realization that a lot of the stuff in my storage boxes would not be chosen by a recipient. Even giving some of this stuff would be an insult. To avoid dealing with my own issues, I will use Mr. FS as an example: how many boxes labeled "Work Tee shirts" does one need?

Interestingly, many of the tee shirts were given to us: blood donations, science fairs attended by others, school stuff. Since Mr. FS works in the yard a lot and does painting, we are the recipients of much tee shirt largesse. These NEVER wear out; they only acquire more stains.

So Readers: a confession. We threw out all but a few tee shirts. So far, I filled one box with shoes, one box with men's clothing, one box with women's, one extremely large box with sheets and towels, and one big shopping bag with soaps and stuff. I am only giving away NICE things.

I guess I should be glad to have so many nice things to give away.