The KonMari method of tidying (which is what we are following, boys and girls) insists that you should not feel bad when disposing of the things you have decided no longer spark joy, and so need to leave your possession.

The rationale (in brief, and among other things) is that even if you bought something and it never made it out of the bag after you got it home, the item has served a purpose.

The advice is also to express thanks to the thing that you are discarding for the service it has rendered. The concession is made that if you feel uncomfortable expressing thanks out loud, to do it in your head. Say, for example, if you are at the local tip and the attendant already thinks you’re a bit of a nutter because you converse with him, rather than grunting grumpily.

So, today I thanked our broken toaster for its many years of service. I thanked the blender base for looking after Steve’s blending requirements while he was a student. I thanked the plastic rocking horse for many years of service both with us and with the Silvers, and apologised for the disastrously long time it’s been without handle bars.

I didn’t express thanks to the mountain of cardboard I took in the same trip, because even I have my limits. It’s cardboard.

Although, I could have thanked it for freeing up the space in the utility room, so that I can now get to my washing machine, dammit.

Anyway, I came home feeling lighter, and generally thankful. And there is still much to be thrown away.