As we prepare to move to a new home we are in the process of trying to downsize. That is a very tough job. Parting with some of the stuff we have collected for over 50 years can be very emotional. I save a lot of stuff for sentimental reasons, and other things I have collected thinking they would increase in value after they were no longer made or easily obtained. It seems that everyone my age has been doing the same and the world is now overrun with collectibles. The baby boomers have now reached retirement and folks are just living longer, so there is a lot more of this collectible stuff. It has become worthless and of little value. It also fills a lot of boxes when packing.

As I sit here at my desk, typing this blog, I’m looking at little figurines and bust of some of my heroes like, Mark Twain, St. Luke, Hemingway, Shakespeare and Asbel Smith. I have a nice metal coaster with the emblem of the State of Texas and some other assorted junk. I might get about 50 cents for the whole lot of stuff in an estate sale. When cleaning out my attic I found a Life magazine published when JFK was assassinated with his picture on the front cover. I saw one of these recently in a junk store and it’s value was less than the original price. Gold class rings, silver tea sets and other such metal objects are now worth more melted than in their molded state of beauty.

I thought my kids might want some of my priceless stuff, but they have their own collection of junk that will be in need of disposal. I don’t think there is enough landfill space to take care of all the trash everyone my age has now collected.

I’m throwing away as much as my nervous system can stand, but we will be moving far move than necessary. All I can do is hope that the eventual estate sale will give someone a little satisfaction. I only wish I could discover someway to convert everyone’s collectibles and other junk into fuel. It would definitely solve the energy problem.