Here is a quick suggestion for those of you who find yourselves approaching the drowning point because of the sea of “stuff” in your home.

This week is Peabody’s annual fall cleanup week. I bet there most certainly is a plethora of discarded household paraphernalia that can quickly disappear from your lives. All you need to do is make the effort to haul it to the curb in front of your home at some point before Saturday.

I have lived in the same house for 40 years. It is a two-and a half story monstrosity that seemed well appointed to house all of the Marshall family trappings when we took possession in 1976. That proved true for a number of decades. However, eventually life took over and those things we thought necessary, dear, and valuable have become just so much stuff that now bogs me down.

I think most people are like that. We spend years accumulating things we want or think we need and then bam! One day we wake up to the fact that we do not need much of it at all.

If you are at that point, take advantage of this opportunity provided by the city of Peabody and our trash service provider, Waste Connections. Be sure your city utility bill is paid and start moving your accumulated junk to the curb. Be sure to follow the instructions you received with your September water bill so know for certain that what you are leaving curbside will qualify for pickup. If you have questions, contact the front office staff at Peabody city building at (620) 983-2174.

Good luck!

This also is a great week to begin putting together your scarecrow for the Second Annual Scarecrow Festival. Organizer Peggy Phillips is hoping for a citywide sweep of creative scarecrows that will remain in place through Halloween. Judging will be Oct. 8 with cash prizes awarded to the top three selections. The competition is open to all. Contact Phillips at (620) 258-7975 by Oct. 8 to be included in the judging.

The festival will include a Chili Cook-off from noon to 2 p.m. at the HUB the same day. There is no charge to enter the cook-off, but there will be a $6 fee for the tasting and judging kit. Peabody fire fighters took home the prize in 2015 and their reputation is on the line for a repeat performance. To sign up or for more information, contact Nancy McLeod at (620) 382-5804.

Finally, our Peabody-Burns High School students will participate in fall homecoming on Oct. 7. I expect there will be candidate games, I heard perhaps a bonfire pep rally at the sand volleyball pit, as well as traditional events — parade downtown, pep rally, king and queen crowning, football game against Oxford, and a homecoming dance.

Another of those passages we all have experienced. Go and watch a group of good kids enjoy theirs. Some of the traditions have seen changes and some are as old as the concept of celebrating a homecoming event. However, there is a certain enthusiasm for it all, just as there has always been.

For my six regular readers, there will be a pop quiz come Oct. 10 to add to the weekend excitement. You had best be informed.

—susan marshall