Jeffrey C. Long

I’ve lately discovered the glory of a good purge.

We’ve been in the process of moving in the last year. It began when our house in Ephrata sold and we had to pack up all our worldly belongings and put it in a storage unit awaiting the construction of our new home. We had a dumpster for garbage that was emptied multiple times, as well as many trips to the dump and Goodwill. From out of all of that, we kept the things that were essential so that we could live in our small house before the new house was completed.

Fast forward nearly a year. House is built and we went back to Ephrata to collect our stuff. Two large u-hauls worth. We unloaded everything, putting furniture and the things we knew we needed in the house. Over the next couple weeks we moved things into the garage that had been overlooked when we were moving in.

Here’s the punchline. Even after the purge in Ephrata with all the garbage dumpster and trips to the dump, we now have an entire garage full of stuff that we aren’t using. So here comes another purge.

Second story: I’ve been on a campaign to keep backing up my computer because it has had a problem crashing. One of the things that I’ve noticed is that every time I restore it, I am keeping less on the drive, it is better organized, and I am using fewer applications. Again, the purge.

Going through periodic times of getting rid of stuff, sometimes without initiating it, is very healthy. My world is cleaner, and more organized and easier to keep up when I periodically go through and am forced to get rid of stuff. What I need to do is do it on my own rather then wait for the times when it is forced on me.

So go for it! Purge!