There has been some "spring cleaning"

here in Downunder. I am not sure whether this is taking place "late" or "early". Perhaps it isn't spring cleaning at all.
The Senior Cat has been tidying his desks. Yes, he has two. One is in his "office" and the other is in a corner of his bedroom. He has two because the one in the bedroom was once used by my mother. He took it over some years ago and allowed other things to pile up in his office.
At the time he was playing with things electronic. Now it has to be understood that the Senior Cat is not particularly technically minded. His real interest in electronics was whether or not he could develop something for a particular "magic trick" - those little conjuring tricks with which he and other magicians like to try and fool people.  
He did whatever it was he first wanted to do and made something for a fellow magician - who uses it to fool more people. He went on to find out more. As a result he had piles of magazines about electronics, he had boxes full of "resistors" and other things. He had circuit boards and bits of Lego and more...and more. It was all stored in the desk, on the desk, along the shelves... and on the floor. I have to confess it was reasonably tidy but it was gathering dust. 
We needed - and still need - more bookshelf space. Could he bear to part with all this "stuff"? 
My BIL pointed out that things have changed since the Senior Cat first started playing with his "electronic" gadgets. The Senior Cat nodded and agreed - and started clearing the desk in the office. There are now piles in the carport. They sit forlornly next to the Senior Cat's gopher and look accusingly at my tricycle. Yes, I do plan to send them off to a new home. The people at the local charity shop know someone who can use them.
It means we have space, just a little space. I have suggested we might rearrange the bookshelves, remove some more books collected by my mother and which we are unlikely to ever use. They really have reached the stage where "they might be useful one day" is not going to be true. 
But there is the other desk as well. It has a space with two doors underneath it. It is crammed with "spare paper" - collected over the years, half used writing pads, old notebooks with some spare pages, a packet of "pop" sticks that will never be used for ice cream, pencils, half tubes of poster colours, old stamps, a collection of letters from people my mother knew...and more. The "little girls across the road" - our neighbours' grandchildren - can use some of this. 
All it will take is some time - and the willingness to give it up. After all, I have a nice little pile to take to the local charity shop too.