Packing other people's things is way better than packing your own things. Today I nearly packed Mis and Trav's entire kitchen. I caught myself getting into arguments with them about things I wanted them to throw away, like a can of asian vegetables, and another can of strange and scary mexican stew. I threw away some things without asking, like a water bottle from the Brookfield Zoo because no one needs that. And a 9-volt battery that was being kept on the off-chance that it wasn't completely dead, but just mostly dead. And a bunch of other things I can't remember now because there were so many, but they will clearly not be missed.
My best friend from high school, another Missy, was in town a few years ago and did me the great favor of throwing away two artworks of birds I had that were made of real feathers. These bird-works were amazing. My ex-boyfriend had bought them for me years before and looking at them made me miserable but I could not give them away. She just said: These are going, and I said, Okay. I am very glad the birds are gone.
On the flipside, I would not let my Missy get rid of Raymond Carver, Aimee Bender, or Lorrie Moore. I just would not allow it. These are important things to keep even if you'll never read them again.
So do not ask me to help you pack. But if you want to clean all the crap out of your life, then ask me. My new career goal is to start a life-cleaning service.
3 comments:
i think people would appreciate this service. my moving/cleaning motto is "Throw it away!" i shouted it a lot when we were cleaning at work and we had like piles and piles of garbage as a result, and again when we were moving. i have missed one thing so far. it was a glasses-cleaner on a key chain. that's in a year.
also, missy, throw away that weird mexican stew in a can.
i think hominy is an ingredient. i don't know what that means.
Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize (corn) kernels which have been treated with an alkali.
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