Andy: Don't Throw It Away!

Letting Go Of Stuff Is A Hard Thing To Do, Especially For Andy Rooney

(CBS)  The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News correspondent Andy Rooney. It was originally broadcast on Feb. 25, 2007.

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My life is cluttered with things I've saved. Most of them aren't worth saving but I can't bring myself to throw them away.

If I have an empty box, I fill it with stuff I decide to keep. One box is filled with note pads that I've never written a note on.

Right under my feet I have one of those metal file dividers. I bought this about eight years ago. I filled it with papers that I never look at. It just sits there, full.

I made one box to keep papers in and to separate oh, say legal matters from letters from old friends. It has seven places for different kinds of papers but I forget what the difference is.

I keep a couple of cardboard boxes right by my desk. Every once in a while, maybe twice a day, I come across something I want to keep and I put it in one of these boxes. When the box fills up, I start filling another box.

Floppy discs seemed like a great idea when they were invented. I like to be in on technological progress. So, I have hundreds of discs now filled with stuff I've written. I never look at any of them. They are here though. Ready when I am.

If I do have something special on paper that I want to keep, an appointment or something, Susie pins it up on the bulletin board and I never look at that either

There are the really important papers. Different categories of important. Personal, legal, family, business, ideas. I no longer know what these papers are. All I can tell you for sure is they're important.

I have some of my old calendars. One is from 1994, another from 2003. Apparently I went to Paris on Monday, June 2nd that year. I forget how long I stayed in Paris but it must have been a quick trip because I gave a speech in Buffalo on June 9th.

It's hard to know how much of your life you ought to try and save so you can enjoy remembering it. Sometimes all you can remember are the things you'd rather forget.

[mightymojoe1]

it is funnie the way you need it after its gone

[barbaram99]

michellm99,,Good post. Yep people they can tell ye to tidy yer place for heath reasons.

[bagldy]

Andy, I loved the story so much, I printed a copy to save!

[rodgert-2009]

Who the Hell is Andy Rooney?

[hagar39]

I use to save things. I'm 70 and I have stuff from grammar school. I started throwing thinga aways about 6 months ago. I now have around 6 empty notebooks. One empty file cabinet. I fill a trash can up about one every two weeks.
I have Time and Newsweek from the the 1950's. My problem. I start readng them. And a few Playboys from the 1970's. A couple from the 1950's.
The matchbox cars etc.? About 200 hundred. Around 250 VHS tapes. Bought a DVD recorder so I could copy them. Had it about three years. Have about 10 show boxes of photo's. One day soon..... No junk.

[ropebender]

I do exactly the same thing. But I can find things in the mess, until someone comes in to clean. Then I can''t find a thing. I call it "File by Pile".

[ropebender]

I do exactly the same thing. But I can find things in the mess, until someone comes in to clean. Then I can''t find a thing. I call it "File by Pile".

[4marlene]

Andy, you are the perfect mate for my mother. She can''t throw away any papers either. Or sheet music. Or church bulletins. Or freebies handed out at fairs and festivals. Or empty envelopes that her mail came in, those come in handy for jotting notes that she will never read, maybe. Nobody understands her, not even the county people that visited last month and told her to clean it up or get fined. Can they do that? I think they are concerned lest she fall and the fire department guys can''t get through the house to render aid. There is no place to set down their equipment, no clear path to roll a guerny. I think mom should just hang a sign on her door that says "don''t bother".

[polishuk1]

andy is right on.the best thing about saving things you never think you will need is that you fear thowing it away--because you never know when you may need it.

[photogeezer]

Andy,
We need to hear your voice on issues of more importance than these, although I always look forward to your part on 60 Minutes. I have read your book; I know what you are capable of. As a lifelong journalist, as a WWII veteran, ans as a member of the most admired generation, what you have to say about our foreighn policy, about this war and about our society is important.
Doug
a Viet Nam vet

[photogeezer]

Andy, I'd rather hear you on topics of importance. As a lifelong journalist, as a WWII veteran, as a member of the most admired generation, I think you have things of much more importance to talk with us about. Whatever you choose to talk about, I look forward to your commentary at the end of 60 Minutes. I encourage all fans of Andy to read his book.
Doug
a Viet Nam vet

[gabbysmomrs]

I thought it was a girl thing! I keep boxes, tins, papers -- that's my worst -- I don't know how many bags of papers I have in closets and corners...everytime someone is coming over I sweep all the paper into a bag or box and stuff it somewhere. I think I learned it from my grandmother. She kept paper bags, candy boxes, christmas papers, and lots of other stuff..including buttons off old clothes (the cloth was used for making quilts). I need a clutter buster!!

[sal567]

Andy: Get rid of all your junk - your head and perspective will be clearer.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.

[cyberfiber-2009]

1of2 Wow! What a great article. I can relate to those small calendars saved in my basement tubs and boundless articles, notes, memorabilia. Fortunately my shredder has been working some OT to eliminate some of my clutter. I found a large shelf at IKEA that covers the 8 ft ceiling in the corner of my office. They should have branded the shelf as feather weight shelving series in partnership with NASA. Should we stockpile boxes then hire a crew into process the goods? Please put these in storage through 2020 please. By then we will program a robot to pick up the boxes at the storage center, perform full scan, and store those to my personal server that fits in the palm of my hand. Wonder how long the "when in doubt throw it out will last?" I hope Andy keeps his stuff and considers archiving it in a Museum. Was not a big history fan but at 35 it seems that we need to start keep score in order to survive. I Finally created a username. It works when looked at stocks online recently.