The Third Drawer Down

A new life means a spring clean. The thought that I may be letting my flat out to a friend while I'm overseas means that it needs a spring clean ever more. Then there's the realisation that I have no idea what is contained in my bedside table drawers - how embarrassment. I've had these bedside tables since I came back to Australia ten years ago. I reckon I've moved house and moved crap with me.

Jimeoin has this wonderful song, "'The Third Drawer Down' about the third drawer down in most kitchens.

My bedside table has three drawers, all of which are in the same state of disrepair. Jimeion's third drawer down has nothing on this!

So top drawer we find:

Some Coles Vaporub, expiry March 2006 (now binned)
Chamomile Essential Oil in  Jojoba, expiry Feb 2008 (now binned)
Three pairs of prescription frames worn circa 1996-2004 (To be send to a charity that recyles frames)
Three glasses cases (to go where the glasses go)
Two old Motorola mobile phones from circa 2004-2008 (to go to Mobile Muster)
Two boxes of a dozen condoms (keep just in case my luck changes)
One clear lip gloss that's too thick to use (now binned)
Three Natio Lipsticks in Isis, Flame and Cafe. (Kept the first two, ditched the last)
One Clinique Lipstick in Bamboo pink/Candy Pink (now binned)
Battery charger for the Canon Sure Pro (keep - still use that camera)
One small leather bound notebook given to me by a friend ten years ago for my birthday. (keep)
One lilac perspex hair tie that's lost most of its elasticity (binned)
One Sony CD Walkman with no batteries or adapter (considering selling on ebay)
One elasticated travel clothesline (in the pile for October)
Three biros. One works. The others binned.
One ugly silver bangle that used to catch on everything (now binned)
Two sets of headphones - both perishing - both binned
One set of Sony earphones in good working order - now in gym bag
One studded dog collar, last worn at a goth tarot reading - keep just in case
One studded wrist band, last worn at the same goth tarot reading - keep just in case.
Eight bandaids, now in toiletries bag for trip

In the second drawer down:

One set of glasses circa 2008 - to go to the glasses recycler
One plastic FCUK glasses case - keep - it's cool
One Union Jack mouse pad. Keep
One pen with a mini etch-a-sketch attached to it given as a present a few years ago - keep for a bit
A ticket , in Greek, to visit Delos Island - keep
One bottle of slut red nail varnish in good working order - now in my nail varnish box in the bathroom
One pair of 10 mm knitting needles - now making Grounded Dutchman a scarf
One pair of 3.25 and 3.00 cm knitting needles - now in with the other knitting and crochetting paraphernalia in the spare room
One descant recorder, circa 1976 - keep for sentimental reasons
One roll of packing tape - keep
Two packs of sticky stars - keep
Two wheels of bubble headed pins - keep
Five highlighters in various colours, all but one work - keep all but the dud one
Five biros - none work - ditch
One roll of sticky tape - keep
Three black textas - two work. Keep the working ones
Another too think lip gloss - ditch
Notes on my kids book that I want to write. Keep
One two hole paper punch - keep
One 10 cm floppy disc - ditch
One music box that plays Moon River - keep
Three envelopes - ditch - the sticky stuff has gone
A piece of plastic from the old hoover that gave up the ghost two years ago - ditch
A leather coin purse with three pound fifty five pence in it - put in pile for the trip
One stack of rather disgusting handmade paper that smells of mildew - ditch - nice present at the time, but unusable now
One bulldog clip - keep
Two clothespegs
One phone extension cable jack - keep
One reel of orange cotton - keep
One pair of sewing scissors - keep

Third drawer down:

One set of smelly Smiggle Pens - keep and consider giving to the neices
One patent leather cleaner - throw - I have no more patent shoes
One pay slip from April 2007 - ditch
One shoe brush - keep (reminder to self, polish boots soon)
One Irish Whisky tasting certificate from the Jameson's Factory in Cork dated September 2006 - keep - sentimental value
One glasses cleaning cloth - keep
One set of Qantas issued Wallace and Gromit playing cards - keep - you never know when you may need a deck of cards
A copy of my birth certificate - keep
One crystal ball with a small chip in it - keep
One fife - used to belong to my mother - keep
A small phot album containing phots of my mother's wedding to my stepfather which took place while I was in England - keep - even though I wasn't there
Two more 10 cm floppy disks - ditch
One Swarovski Crystal key ring with an emblem of Australia in it - given as a Christmas gift by a Singaporean workmate some seven years ago - Ebay pile
One Book worm book mark - keep - cute
One spring loaded work tag holder - use - my old one broke a few weeks ago
One reel of black cotton - keep - always useful
One empty film case - use - in the kitchen, great to put salad dressing in for work lunches
One roll of ASA400 camera film - keep for a bit - I still have the Pentax K1000 somewhere
Two passport photos taken circa 2002 - keep - I don't look too bad
A packet of sewing needles - keep
Three cassettes - one mixed tape, one Spy vs Spy, and the Violent Femmes, The Blind Leading the Naked - ditch - I have them on CD and now on iTunes.
Thee small safety pins - keep - always useful
One black BC-02 Canon printer cartridge - ditch - I now have a HP printer that uses other cartridges
One pair of Tibettan bells - keep - use for healing sessions
One Weight Watchers exercise points calculator - ditch - I have a heart rate monitor instead now.
One pig ugly luggage tag bought at the National Museum of Australia for $12, given to me as a present for my 40th. Hmmm, keep and consider regifting or putting in the mason's raffle draw next month - they like stuff like that.

I now have two spare drawers in my bedside table - WOW.

This cleaning out thing is really cathartic!

Next space to tackle - the spare room. Domp de domp domp - dahhhhhhhhh.

Argh.

And here I am, never considering myself a hoarder.

Pand