Observed on the 2nd of March every year, National Old Stuff Day is a holiday dedicated to the concept of “out with the old, in with the new”.

The holiday encourages people to seek out new ways of doing seemingly monotonous tasks they have always done the same way in the past.

It is a chance to break routine and discover a new pattern, method, or way to live their life that may give them a sense of variety or perhaps even a new perspective.

Some recommended ways for people to celebrate Old Stuff Day include taking one of their old belongings, say a piece of wall art or an old coffee table or dresser, and giving it a nice clean polish or rearranging the items within their home.

Others recommend examining some daily habits, maybe a morning or nightly routine, and reorganizing or adding to it.

Changes like this can help make even the drollest tasks in life just a little more exciting.

The term “old stuff” can refer the value had in the wisdom of the elderly, as well.

Some who celebrate the holiday choose to take time and talk to grandparents or other elders in their life, to learn from them the wisdom and knowledge they have accumulated over the years.

Learning from those who came before is a great way to develop a new perspective and certainly falls in line with celebrating Old Stuff Day.

As is the spirit of the holiday, students on Eastern’s campus each choose to celebrate Old Stuff Day in their own unique way.

One Eastern student, Brayden Lickey, a freshman chemistry major, reflected on her nightly routine, and some changes she could make to potentially better herself.

“At 12 a.m. every day, I’ll go wash my face, brush my teeth, come back and take all my vitamins in a particular order,” Lickey said.

As far as what she could do to improve her routine: eliminating “procrastination, basically,” she said.

Lexi Prusow, a freshman pre-dentistry major and Eastern soccer player, highlighted how being a student athlete during a pandemic has affected her morning routine.

“Everything’s changed due to COVID – as an athlete, we have to get screened in every day… we have to wake up way earlier than we would like and go get our temperature checked, and they ask us questions about symptoms,” she said. “My classes start at eleven every day, but I have to be up early for that reason because I have to be screened.”

When asked what changes she might be able to make, Prusow noted that getting up just a few minutes earlier might give her time to improve her start to the day.

“I wait till the last possible second to get screened – if I go in earlier I could eat breakfast and be up for the day,” she said.

John Wills can be reached at 581-2812 or at jmwills@eiu.edu.