Dynamite and Other Old-Year Debris

People save things they would be better off without. This turned up in the news yesterday when a woman discovered, in a box of her late father’s possessions, among what looked like rolls of coins, enough dynamite to level a house. The story at CBC News:

Dynamite found in Cabbagetown home

You don’t have to be storing dynamite to benefit from getting rid of some of your old stuff. A new year starts tomorrow, so today is symbolically a good day to get rid of things that you know you won’t be using again. If it’s a pen that doesn’t write, a sweater you don’t want to wear, or more envelopes than you could ever use, you are better off with the empty space than with the debris of the past. You probably don’t want to spend New Year’s Eve digging through clutter, but pick one thing to throw away today to reinforce the idea that the new year will bring new things.