I’m looking at a pile of electronic waste I need to dispose of. It’s surprising how it can accumulate and become clutter that you live with.

Recently we were cleaning up the laundry room to prepare for a new washer and dryer (read about that here), and I noticed how much old electronics we had kicking around.

There’s an old TV – tube television that is – with a built-in VCR, an old laser printer, and a couple of satellite receivers.

I don’t want to say this too loudly in case Lily hears it, but I think if I looked harder around the house I could find more old electronics that could find their way to the electronic waste site.

And that is the problem right there. With any other trash in our house, we collect it in waste bins and then put it out by the curb for the garbage truck to haul away.

It happens weekly so there is never too much of a build-up. Maybe at Christmas time we need to put out more than one bag of garbage, but other than that, most weeks we put out less than half a green garbage bag of trash.

Then there is the recycling. We have a green bin as well as blue and grey boxes. But again, they are picked up weekly; we never get a build-up.

With electronic waste, it’s different. It doesn’t go to the curb; you have to take it somewhere.

I’m never sure where that somewhere is either, giving me more reason for keeping it in the house.

Electronic waste also still looks useful, unlike other garbage. It might not work, it may be old technology, but when you look at it, it looks like you could still turn it on.

So I hate to get rid of it. I’m thinking maybe there will be a time when some parts can come in handy or someone will come up with a great idea for an alternative use for these items.

Years ago Apple made a computer that had a nine inch screen. Did I mention it was a monochrome monitor? Yes it was.

Well, after computing had long progressed past the Mac plus or Mac Classic, people starting using the frames of these computers for things like goldfish bowls.

That may not be an exciting alternative use for the product, but you never know what someone will think up.

I have an old desktop computer that still sits on a desk in our basement … I’m sure that one day there will be a use for it. In the meantime, it has a real retro look to it.

These old electronics, that are spread out in different rooms in our house, seem to fit somehow. But now that a few of them have been placed together in a pile, I can see they really are good for nothing.

They just have to go.

Here’s the thing: It’s good to review your life and evaluate the things that are not of value, or may be negatively impacting your spiritual life. When you identify them as such, then you realize how they stand in your way of having a more meaningful relationship with God. If you don’t evaluate them, they will clutter up your life, preventing you from realizing why you seem to be stuck spiritually. You need a disposal of waste to declutter your spiritual life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you evaluate the clutter to your spiritual life? Leave your comments below.