Get rid of stuff

I gave away my old hi-fi amplifier this evening.

I got this from my parents when I was thirteen, way back in the early 1980s. Dad replaced the individual components with a nasty cheap all-in-one system on the basis of saving space, and gave me most of the individual pieces that he’d had since 1976.

I spent most of my teenage years like most other teenagers, listening to music whilst shut in my bedroom. I would listen to music through it with a pair of headphones and the volume turned up far too loud, listening to all manner of stuff – some of it embarassing and some that’s now cool again.

I took it to college with me, and back home, and into my first flat, and into the first house I ever shared with someone close. It kept on going and never broke once. And once I was able to afford to replace it with something newer, it went into the cupboard at the top of the stairs and gathered dust for five years.

It was just an object and it wasn’t being used anymore. But I’m glad I was able to give it to someone who is going to use it, because it was something that indirectly helped me enjoy my childhood, adolescence, teens, young adulthood and proper grown-up-ness.

I hope that it will give someone else enjoyment too. You never know – maybe they’ll play The Muppet Show Album through it too.

So far I’ve done the following:

1. Became ruthless with two tubs of important work-related items. This was easier than expected, as the glue on all the self-seal envelopes had gone brown and we don’t use floppy disks anymore.

2. Finally decided to throw out my old college notes. Well, some of them – there’s some that might come in useful if I decide to do another professional qualification.

3. Gave away something on Freecycle – hurrah!

4. Have placed my first item for auction on Ebay – I hope someone wants it.

I think Freecycle is definitely the way forward. I seem to have stuff that’s too good to throw away, but looks like it won’t sell on EBay given some investigation I’ve done.

Now – I just need to decide what to do with my old hi-fi amplifier that dates from 1978…