Thrift Store Jungles

People on Facebook are saying that, during this time of  pandemic crisis, they are clearing out stuff.

Decluttering.

Organizing.

Rearranging.

Goodwill and similar resources will be the recipients of discarded, yet still useful, items, I suppose.

I don't go into Goodwill not because I'm too good for it but because it smells like my attic. I don't go in my attic, either.

Both upset my allergies.

This is not the time to have a yard sale, not when folks are supposed to be separated and no more than 10 people in an area at a time. Perhaps in 10 weeks there will be lots of yard sales.

The last time I went to a yard sale was probably 20 years ago. I went in the early hours and the dew was still wet on everything. I slipped on the asphalt at the home with a steep driveway and fell. I tore my pants, bruised up my arm, and bent my glasses.

Not a soul saw me fall, as best I could tell. If they did, they didn't say anything.

I picked myself up and went home, and haven't been to a yard sale since. If I were an eBay seller, though, I would go to yard sales and auctions because people rid themselves of nice stuff sometimes. However, I am not an eBay seller.

Most folks have too many things. Sometimes there is a good reason for replacements or buying new. For example, I have sneakers that I replace every six months. They're still basically good shoes, they've just worn too much for my feet. I have very picky feet that require a stiff-soled shoe. After a while, the soles become loose and I begin having pain. That's when I know it's time to buy a new pair of shoes.

I don't think I've bought a pair of worn shoes. I wonder if they really sell them at Goodwill, or do they go to some other place to be melted down or whatever one might do with a shoe.

Other times, though, people buy new things for unknown reasons. I have a pair or two of shoes that I doubt I will ever wear again, shoes I bought to wear to a special event. I wonder when we will have special events again.

At any rate, when the curfews are lifted and we're all free to go back to browsing things, I look for eBay and the local thrift stores to have loads of stuff available because people are home going through boxes and realizing they've done without this whatsit for 10 years so they may as well rid themselves of it.

I am not doing any of that at the moment. I am home all the time anyway and I clear stuff out when the mood strikes me. Besides, the things I need to clear out are generally papers and they need to be burned or shredded, not sent to a thrift store.

Maybe clearing a shelf would be good therapy, though. Perhaps I'll give it a go, and send my own things to the thrift store jungles.