Clutter Clear in Champagne

Among the more satisfying activities of my week here has been a brief stint of clutter-clearing for one of the local elderly residents (aka my boyfriend's grandmother). So far, she has allowed me to toss various and sundry junk, including but not limited to: dried flowers, old magazines, expired coupons, empty boxes, past-dated prescription drugs, melted-down candles, shriveled garlic bulbs, and some truly horrifying objects in the knick-knack category that go beyond the pale of kitsch. The rule is: Every object in a home should have either an affective or practical value - otherwise, it goes in the trash (or given away, recycled, whatever). If there is hesitation about throwing something away (which there often is, especially when the something is a half-full bottle of cologne, for example), I simply cry "Past its expiration date!" and that usually does the trick.