What a great summer it's been for getting rid of stuff and for assigning places to things BEFORE they pile up.

I carried bags and bags of gently-used linens, gently-used CDs, and old dresses-cut-down-to-skirts into my house. I went through casual clothes in the house and camper. I bought some new clothes. Here's what I learned about managing all the STUFF.

Clothes and Linens:
Does this item belong in the main closet (new), the drawer out in the camper (stained but serviceable), in the thrift shop pile (worn but serviceable), or the trash? It's a constant FLOW. Move each item down the line-- don't plan on keeping it forever when it's been bought. Look forward to enjoying it for a time, and then passing it down the pipeline. Result-- opening up the camper each year to find old favorites I haven't seen all year, waiting for me to enjoy a few more times and pitch as other items replace them in coming years.

CDs (bought cheap, used):
Is this an artist whose work I know? Pay up to $3. Never heard of them, but looks intersting? Pay up to $1.50. Back home or in the car-- is this potential music to keep? Rip it to MP3 and store it in the external drive. Is it potential workout music? Use software to estimate BPMs and add BPM to filename. Copy usable workout items to this year's folders on C drive, sorted by BPM for different times of the year's workout season. Is it good listening music? If so put it out in the car for car tunes. If not, put it in the thrift shop pile. When car tune CDs pile up in the car, put them in the thrift shop pile. Since any CD worth using has already been ripped to MP3, any CD I am tired of is fair game tro pass along. It's a FLOW.

STUFF
Stuff and stuff, it's just a flow.
Love it some, then let it go.
There will be more before you know!

~S~