Trash vs. Treasure

I married a packrat. This does not match well with my self-diagnosed ADHD/OCD tendancies. And he wonders why I've been the biggest witch since we moved into our new place.

I will be the first to admit that I have my weakness when it comes to saving things. My treasure is books. Dr. Seuss, JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, Michael Crichton (I think we own all of his), Dan Brown, books about Polynesia, whatever has captured my interest or the interest of my children... My ultimate dream room is a library just like the one in the Disney cartoon Beauty and the Beast. Bookshelves filled with books from the floor to the vaulted ceilings with ladders on runners that enable me to glide from one shelf to the next. If I could sing like Belle that would make the vision complete. I come from a family of avid readers. My stepmom used the word 'voracious' to describe our reading habits. With books comes knowledge, information, pure pleasure! So how can a collection of books be trash?

Back to the packrat... Why do we need crates full of CDs? How many of us actually listen to an artist's entire album? Very rarely, I can assure you. Unless it's Luther Vandross or some old Whitney Houston, then okay. And now with iTunes and iPods, no one needs to lug around CDs or battery operated, bulky CD players. So I ask, how is this treasure? What knowledge can you gain from these flimsy pieces of plastic that scratch so easily? My oldest daughter had the greatest idea. She said we should set the crates outside and put a FOR SALE sign on them. Then, technically, they would become treasure because they would actually offer some sort of income. But who would want the damn things?

Maybe my nerves will calm down when we purchase a bookcase AND a CD case so the crates aren't sitting in the middle of the family room floor. Maybe I won't be ready to pull my hair out when the stereo parts are put together and taken OFF of my dining room table. Stereo system+CDs=Loud Music=Raging Beast of a Mother because she can't read her books in peace. My books are safely packed away in plastic totes to protect them from the elements where they patiently wait in the storage room. That's where the CDs and stereo crap should be. And remain. And maybe the packrat should join them.
CDs=trash
Books=treasure
KNOWLEDGE ALWAYS WINS!!!