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A small decluttering
Jul. 14th, 2017 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adairI did not get rid of a lot, but what I did is very significant in my thinking process about letting go of stuff. I loved WordPerfect back in the day. It was much easier to use and to make corrections and edits than Word. However, as things go, Word really began to dominate in usage, and I was eventually required to use it at work. I had Wordperfect at home, but it began to fade in the early 90s. I bought an update, back when software came in big boxes, with lots of discs and handbooks - my box was about 4 inches wide. I also had 3 heavy user books, on that slick, heavy paper. I have not used WP in years - my computers are now Macs, and in any case WP is no more, but for some reason I held on to all this software and manuals. They took up about 9 inches of shelf space, on a high shelf in my office area. I think I was so irritated that the software I thought was much the best lost in the sales race and did not let go of useless stuff out of some kind of demented loyalty.
I am editing the desk and reference shelves over it because we are getting a new iMac with a 20 inch screen. B uses a laptop running Snow Leopard, and that OS is getting seriously out of date. He wants a bigger screen to watch various videos, and I would not mind using it either. So we are making space for this bigger device, and the extra stuff it will have - DVD/CD drive (Apple no longer includes them in their hardware) a touch-pad, 2 speakers, a back-up drive, and a lot of cords. This means I have to clear the shelf that will be behind the computer, and therefore find places for stuff or get rid of it. I gained 9 inches on my upper shelf, and moved the OS manuals for Snow Leopard and Windows XP (yes, we have old systems) to that space. I also discovered the reference shelf had 2 different editions of The Dictionary of Word Origins and 3 Bartlett's. One of the word origins is going to Books to Prisoners; I have seen requests for something like that and I am going to see that someone who needs it gets it. I am looking over the Bartlett's to decide which one to keep.
All this seems to say that I am getting over at least part of my need to hold on to books that I will probably not need again. It is a very small step, but I'll keep reminding myself that no evil happened from this action, and space was gained.
I am editing the desk and reference shelves over it because we are getting a new iMac with a 20 inch screen. B uses a laptop running Snow Leopard, and that OS is getting seriously out of date. He wants a bigger screen to watch various videos, and I would not mind using it either. So we are making space for this bigger device, and the extra stuff it will have - DVD/CD drive (Apple no longer includes them in their hardware) a touch-pad, 2 speakers, a back-up drive, and a lot of cords. This means I have to clear the shelf that will be behind the computer, and therefore find places for stuff or get rid of it. I gained 9 inches on my upper shelf, and moved the OS manuals for Snow Leopard and Windows XP (yes, we have old systems) to that space. I also discovered the reference shelf had 2 different editions of The Dictionary of Word Origins and 3 Bartlett's. One of the word origins is going to Books to Prisoners; I have seen requests for something like that and I am going to see that someone who needs it gets it. I am looking over the Bartlett's to decide which one to keep.
All this seems to say that I am getting over at least part of my need to hold on to books that I will probably not need again. It is a very small step, but I'll keep reminding myself that no evil happened from this action, and space was gained.
