the joy of throwing things away.....

It seems odd at first glance the ripple of joy that i get throwing things away. I am a skinflint...a penny-pincher...a miser, some might say. I am frequently uncomfortable spending money and do so reluctatntly. I used to cut coupons and go to three stores each week to do my shopping. I compare prices. I don't think that i've bought a Starbucks in fifteen years and have only had one pedicure (with my mother....also about fifteen years ago). I still use a yellow Tupperware dish to hold sweet-n-low that i took to University of Cincinnati with me in 1984 (for that same use!). I reuse tea bags twice before they are done and then put the used up grounds in my morning oatmeal (ditto with egg shells from hard boiled eggs). I am far from a spendthrift. And, yet, i said that i get a thrill throwing things away. What's that all about? Well, i like to throw away things that are used up. The paper that is full of notes...then grocery lists...then the random observation/reminder. The broken saucer that i've had for ten years and finally dropped and broke. The seam from the bottom of the blouse that i wore for years, then cut up around the worn part to sew a new shirt....and the remainder scraps to be pitched. I like seeing the used up...and saying "good bye" to the items that have served me well. By the time that i've had a saucer for ten years or a tee shirt (now a cleaning rag) for seven, it's like an old friend. We were good for a long while and now it's time to part. And, i'll admit, i'm a little proud of myself that i was able to get the value out of the object before tossing it. This is not a joy that i would ever get from throwing out the plastic K-cups or the multiple take-away containers from random restaurant take-away meals. I just feel guilty when i have to pitch things that haven't been used up mulitple times. The culture in which i now live is very much like this. Ticos (Costa Rican natives) thrown _nothing_ away until it is "dead". Condiments come, generally, in sacs (like toothpaste tubes but bigger) so that the product can be squeeeeeeezed all the way out before the container is used up. Take-away/"doggie bag" containers are generally pressed paper and the last restaurant that i went to (and had a fellow diner ask for a take-away container) charges for the container. I brought my own (the trust Tupperware yellow one, actually!! as i'm out of loose sweet-n-low!!!). If something has use left in it but i no longer want it (oversized tee shirt....cookies that i bought a 12-pack of and then found that i don't love them), i pass them on to others (Olga, the housekeeper....area collection at the grocery for the less fortunate....local shelter house for Venezuelan refugees). Nothing gets wasted. We don't take out much garbage (lots of recycling, in comparison). The last thing that i pitched was a spent pen. Cans from tomato sauce (28oz size) become pen holders. Former two outgrown/outworn shirts went to make ice cream holders for friends (and future presents, to remain unnamed in case future recipients are reading this....). Recycle, Reduce, Reuse...then rejoice in the success and pitch the leftover scraps happily. Pura Vida.