Lately my apartment has been going through a change, a change so unique and wonderful, that even my own father, Rex Pâtér Homo cannot believe his own ears.I’ve begun to clean it up and make it look like an apartment as opposed to living in a storage space. I suspect for years I have been living like this and anyone who is anyone has told me I have too much clutter, but you know I never listened to them, that is until recently.
Ever since I decided to get the Internet at home, I decided to make it a goal of mine, to clean up my apartment. The best way to do this for me though, is to go through all the boxes piece by piece. Now of course I realize this will take some time, as I don’t make enough of it myself, either because I am online talking, looking, poking, engaging or provoking minds among other things.
I have begun to go through the boxes; in some cases it’s like finding a treasure trove of long-forgotten items that I know I really don’t need anymore, but hung onto them for whatever reason.
In terms of my audio-visual trinkets like CDs, I have been going through my collection and pulling out music I don’t listen to and selling it for store credit at a local music shop. I’ve been doing the same thing with my audio cassettes, video tapes and DVDs, although I don’t have a DVD player just yet.
I don’t get much in store credit, but I don’t mind either, I can get music that I love and that’s the important part. Sure it’s more clutter, but it’s the clutter that I enjoy and cling to the very life of; music makes me happy whether I’m on the job (it’s humming in my head throughout the day) to driving in my car to wherever I go. It’s all there, waiting for me to listen to it and be inspired by it.
Each time I go, I hang out at the shop for at least an hour, because it’s about a 45 minute drive there from my apartment, besides I like talking to the music sales clerk about good and bad music. I made a killing in store credit last time I was there, close to $193.00! Is that incentive enough to dip into your collection and sell it off too?
Well, knowing most die-hards that I know, especially those who hang onto their vinyl, will most likely keep their records until they die. Upon death, someone else will likely get it and the lucky recipient will more than likely give the records away, sell it on EBay, barter for them on Craigslist or do whatever they choose to do.
So what’s the point in saving anyway? You can always replace them. If it’s money you’re after then sell now. Unless your records are in mint, pristine or in decent shape, most used record shops aren’t going to bother looking at them, let alone buy them from you. If they do, it’s not going to be that much therefore your pipedream will burst like a raging flood and get you all depressed.
What I’ve learned over the years is, that you cannot take everything with you when you die, so it’s best to enjoy what you have around you now, and get rid of what you don’t need so someone else can enjoy what you used to enjoy.
I learned that lesson the hard way when my parents, The Arizona Babe & Rex Pâtér Homo decided to move to the Valley Of Golden Happiness back in 2001. I had to move everything I could out of their home and into my apartment in Chicago. My roommates were not happy, but I had no choice. The only items I kept in my car that summer were my records; and when I had to make room for other stuff, that’s when I decided to sell them.
I remember getting over $200 in store credit, which of course doesn’t buy very much in today’s economy or marketplace, but that’s when I decided to take on the new attitude policy in my life.
And it’s working, working for me. And I like it.
When I pass over the universe someday, I certainly hope that my collection of music, art and books will be enjoyed by the next generation of young and old and willing ears.
Slowly and surely my apartment will look like an apartment again. Then after the boxes, it’s the clothing and the books and lord only knows how many of those I need to go through.
And as I work on the apartment, I will also be cleaning out my Saturn, my own moving storage space on four wheels. It would be nice to see the back seat once more.
After that, it’s my storage space.
I’ll need a steam shovel for that.
