De-accessioning is what museums do when they sell off masterpieces to buy new things of questionable value. (The Met sold its ancient coins to buy a Greek krater in 1972 but had to return the "hot pot" 20 years later to Italy.)
(Steve Roach, Coin World). But for all of us, de-accessioning is a one-way street--out.I debugged my kitchen racks, leaving many crummy flower vases and rolls of gift paper behind the back door. I rediscovered the good baking pans I thought I had lost forever but moved the very fine fish poacher that had been sitting there for 30 years to its next home as boning and filleting a whole fish was not on my retirement agenda.
Books and records. Your local library (yes, we still have them) will take your books and sell them. Go to www.nypl.org/locations to find your branch. Records are harder to re-gift but until the end of August, you can bring them to the Symphony Space on 95th and Broadway. Call 212.864.5400 from 1-6 pm to alert them. I'm going to do this--soon.
And now, clothes. You can't squeeze another thing in any closet and you can't find your favorite shirt. Now is the time to bite the bullet and remove all those suits. Bring them to a neighborhood thrift shop and let someone else wear them proudly to a job interview. With any luck, you will never have to wear a suit again. This goes double for high heels.
Don't forget those giants, Good Will www.goodwillsa.org/donate/donation-locations and the Salvation Army satruck.org/; see sites for your local shop. If you have really decided to simplify your lifestyle, you may qualify for a truck pick-up.
Warning: do not try to make money on these endeavors or even get a tax deduction; this will slow you down. Your reward is a good feeling and the ability to find that shirt.
#retiredinnewyork
#deaccessioning
#getridofstuff
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