Everyday Canvas

Getting Rid of Stuff or Stress

Prompt: Close your eyes and Imagine for a moment...any lingering stress you have released out to sea. What will you let the waves carry away as you breathe clean ocean air?

I am not letting the waves carry away anything. Even the stress is important because I am a packrat and I keep everything for future reference, should I write another story or something. When something stressful happens, I tuck it inside a mental zip-lock bag and put it away in storage. Then, if I have a few minutes, I write it down in a notebook with a pen. Nothing diminishes stress as much as handling it long-hand.

Going with the ocean metaphor, I’d rather look at what the waves bring so I can pick and choose. I believe that, sometimes, they may bring real gems. So like a stealthy feline, I am still lying in wait…

Prompt: Do you have things around your house you should throw out but can't? Do they have sentimental value? Write about this.

My hubby is guiltier with the sentimental keeps than I am. That is why he can’t find anything and he always involves me in his searches.

As for me, I have tons of photos and books that are important and I am quite reluctant to do away with them. I also have two dolls I keep.

Then I have other items, which were given to me as mementos and if I were to do away with those and the people who gave them to me found out, they’d be very upset. So I keep those.

What I don’t throw out, at least right away, are the scraps of paper I have noted ideas, snippets of dialogue, or outlines. I keep them for a while, even after their use. Then, a few months later, I get annoyed at myself for keeping unnecessary clutter and dump them in the wastebasket.