My Turn: Getting my stuff together — to get rid of my 'stuff'

I look about the house and notice things that I don’t really need. But there they sit — on bookshelves, in file cabinets and closets, on countertops and even spread atop our hardwood floors.

Get rid of it, I think. You don’t need all this stuff. Send it off to some charitable organization or to family members who might want it. Or dump it.

And just what are these “things” that I find so hard to get rid of?

First off, there are hundreds of books, which I find extremely difficult to get rid of. After all, these writers took pains to set down their thoughts; how hurtful to have their heartfelt thoughts and heavy labor casually passed along to someone or tossed out. But there are so many, and I don’t need them all. I even have two copies of some books, having forgotten that I bought one before purchasing another.

Then there’s that ancient Rolodex atop a file cabinet on the enclosed front porch. My husband often consulted it when he worked in news. But he retired some 16 years ago. Along with a serious coating of dust, the Rolodex holds such auspicious phone numbers: among them, a prison in Florida, an agent for late Dean Martin and an airport tower in Damascus, Syria. There’s also a round, maple-stained pole, about 2 feet long and less than a half-inch wide, beneath our baby grand piano. Is it a piano part? Is it necessary? Who knows? When I tinkle the keys, everything sounds as it should. But I’ll leave it there for when someone comes along who recognizes what it is and where it belongs.

In a back room beneath a chest of drawers sits a box of wineglasses, apparently unopened. Why did I buy so many? I have dozens in all shapes and sizes. Anyone out there interested in these long-stemmed beauties?

In the same room are piles of artificial logs next to our fireplace. I no longer light them because they give off a horrible odor. I prefer plain, old hardwood. Birch logs smell the best.

There’s a closet in the same room with more “stuff,” including two boxed statuettes of Mariano Rivera, the retired pitching ace for the Yankees, and another of current star outfielder Aaron Judge. Packed in different nooks and crannies of the house are two vacuum cleaners — one that works well and one that doesn’t.

There’s a huge snowblower in the garage that could probably blast its way through 7-foot-high drifts on the interstate. It is hardly used, mainly because we haven’t had enough heavy snow the past few winters. The darn machine is so heavy, you’d need a crane to move it. Also in the garage: a bike I no longer ride and seeds for flowers and vegetables so old I doubt they would reproduce anything if planted.

In the basement, from which our grandkids already helped us remove a lot of “stuff,” sits a pingpong table, rarely used except when my husband is able to get our kids or grandkids down there, where they immediately embarrass him when challenged to a game. Also in the basement are skis, ice skates and roller skates I haven’t used in years. In the attic are closets and suitcases filled with perfectly fine clothing that I have long outgrown — in other words, I’ve gained some weight. But still there they sit.

Yup, I’ll have to get going and do something about all this indispensable stuff.

Irene McCoy,

Rockville Centre