Nine for Nine...

Nine for Nine

By Gerard Lebel

Hey… Wake up!

Open your eyes and study your surroundings.

Go ahead… this is the day you promised yourself that you would attempt the impossible… to organize and downsize… disposing of all those non-essential items you have garnered through the years. Take a good, long hard look, first of all, at your bedroom. That’s right…. wake up and smell the coffee. Observe the clutter!

Or perhaps you are of the ilk that enjoys hiding and hoarding. You just love to collect… “stuff!” Why just about anything! Rocks, matchbooks, menus, magazines, memorabilia, pens, old birthday and Christmas cards, ceramic figurines, holiday decorations… and the list goes on and on!

You ran out of display shelves and extra storage space many moons ago and you’ve had to be creative and find new homes to store your collection habit articles. Open all those ornate bureau draws to see what you may find. Look behind that dark cherry nightstand in the corner and inside the etched mirrored armoire, nestled against the west wall. Grab a flashlight, get down on your knees and take a peak under the bed. And when you rise from that “Oh God, help me!” kneeling position… open your over-sized, double door, his and hers closet… and SCREAM!

Now that you have completed your survey of the master bedroom and are fully awake…

*check out any spare bedrooms,

*the home office,

*the kitchen cabinets and draws,

*the attic,

*the basement,

*the garage,

*the shed.

*and perhaps for some of you… that rented room at your local E-Z Storage Center that is costing you $150.00 per month!!

Wake up, America! We are in an economic crisis!

It’s time to change your evil ways and clean up the clutter and I have a very simple solution to the problem that I like to call “Nine for Nine.”

Each day for the next nine days, bag or box nine items to be given to goodwill or thrown away. At the end of nine days, you will have disposed of 81 unnecessary items. Repeat the process of ‘Nine for Nine’ until you have achieved the desired results.

Now, one last thing to remember. If you choose to donate your “stuff” to goodwill, be aware, however, that you are aiding in the creation and corruption of a new “collecting addict.”

I shall leave that, my friends, to your conscience.