Roz Proclaims: Out with the Old, and Nothing New Comes In

Rather than make any new resolutions for 2015, I’m going to try to get rid of some of the old obsessions that carried me through 2014. This might seem like the same thing in reverse, but I’m pretty sure that getting rid of something is easier than starting something new.

So, this brings me to my first obsession: collecting stuff I no longer use or need and putting it in a garbage sack to take to Goodwill. Twelve months ago I had one sack. Now I have seven. The obsession part is the accumulation, feeling so good about all the excellent things I will be donating. The getting rid part involves actually hauling the sacks into my car and depositing them with Goodwill.

Next obsession: eyeing something in a store, usually an item of clothing, and thinking I simply must have it. Unfortunately, when I get home, I discover I’ve bought the same thing, or something similar enough to have no distinction, at least three times already. I place the perfect black pumps on my shoe rack beside their identical sisters, all of whom are screaming take me to Goodwill, already!

On their way to Roz's car--finally!

Then there is my cell phone. Actually, it’s not my phone I obsess about, but the cell phone of my boyfriend, who I insist should be just as enthralled with his as I am with mine. Why isn’t he oohing over the laser beam app, or aahing over voice search?  Why does he see no need to send anyone a picture or even a text?  So I am going to stop beating him over the head and let him do just what he wants: make a phone call.

Television shows are hardly worth mentioning and almost seem healthy, since they do tend to run their course quickly. I am currently obsessed with Breaking Bad. Before my obsession began, I was mystified why this show won so many awards, even though I’d never seen a single episode. Thanks to Netflix, I am now halfway through the entire series, and I get it. It’s good. But as with The Sopranos and Homeland, to name just two, once I am done, I will resume normal life.

Speaking of television shows, I did spend an inordinate amount of time in 2014 trying to figure out how to receive the optimum Wi-Fi signal at home. It should have been easy, since my house is small, and the cable attaching the modem to the wall is even smaller. I may have to break my own rule in 2015 and call my service provider, but since we spent so much time chatting in 2014, we are old friends by now.

Removing clutter is annoying, even to me, the declutterer. While I must remove all unnecessary objects from any counter or table, I often find I need a removed item an hour or so later, and then the problem becomes remembering where I put it. This obsession even extends to my e-mail in-box. All mail has been moved to the trash file as soon as I read it. Now I vow to let opened and read email languish in the in-box, enjoy a little vacation time, before I inevitably send it to the trash and then, of course, empty the trash!

Most important, for 2015, Patty and I wish all our wonderful readers a happy, joyous, and obsession-free year. And please feel free to delete this after reading.