Paper! Paper! Paper!

For years, my husband has lovingly referred to me as “the catalog queen.” Sadly, I must admit to the truth of that label. I do save catalogs, not just for online shopping, but for ideas --- decorating ideas, gift ideas, gardening ideas, you name it. When we moved into our house, I saved so many catalogs they began to invade the living space (of course, my husband would say they still invade the living space, but that is another story). Eventually, tired of the paper piles, my loving mate gave me The Catalog Rule: they must all fit into one file drawer. I have stuck to this rule, for the most part, even though I don’t always get the catalogs filed in a timely manner (hence, the catalogs that still invade the living space).

So with Christmas rapidly approaching, this morning I decided to clear the catalog clutter from my family room so it would be somewhat more presentable for the holiday. After some preliminary sorting, I opened the file drawer and began to clear the outdated volumes, replacing them with the newer editions. One hour later, my home was 105 pounds lighter! That’s right, I cleared 56 pounds of catalogs, 44 pounds of magazines, and 5 pounds of phone books from my home. I was a little surprised at the weight. My husband wasn’t shocked at all. I just hope my garbage man isn’t shocked when he has to lift all that paper into the trash truck on Thursday.