There are two types of people: the hoarders and those who are always chucking things out because they hate clutter. I fall into the latter category. In my view, a well-ordered environment makes for a well-ordered mind. So you’ll not see my desk buried beneath the usual office detritus, nor my car strewn with apple cores, empty crisp packets, and scrunched-up receipts. In moments of boredom, I enjoy going through a drawer or cupboard to weed out items no longer required.
However, my long-standing urge to jettison useless stuff has led to trouble. One episode still haunts me. I was in the kitchen with my mother, who was cooking an elaborate meal. The countertop was awash with chopped onions, cloves of garlic, clumps of parsley, potatoes for peeling, a plateful of diced beef, spices galore… Trying to be helpful, I vigorously wiped surfaces and tidied away anything unneeded, and in the process swept into the bin what appeared to be a used paper towel beside the sink.
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