Extra Credit

In my trash can sits the remnants of a makeshift college vacuum- lint roller sheets. They’re normally used for pet hair, but not in this case. Sheets of white, sticky paper fill the bottom of the trash. Layers and layers of lint sheets are piled up, edges curling, with all sorts of debris attached. Coming from a high traffic carpet, clumps of blonde and brown hair are first to be seen. Being the home of two medium length heads of hair, this carpet is intertwined with the strands of golden locks. In one roll, the hair is quickly gathered upon the tacky surface of the roller. The hair forms what looks like a web on the lint sheets, with only small spaces in between each piece of hair. In the small spaces not covered in hair are all sorts of other fragments adhered to the surface. Small particles of mud from the bottom of cleats are dragged in after a hard day of practice. It’s hard to see in the midst of a sea blue carpet, but it sticks out on the bright sheets of the lint roller in the trash. Crumbs in every color decorate the sheets as well, from the variety of snacks we eat in our dorm. It’s hard to tell whether or not these crumbs were stuck to the lint roller to begin with, or if they were dumped on top of the sheets in the garbage. Orange, for Cheetos, blue, for blue corn tortilla chips, yellow, for the cookies mom just brought us, and green, from the dried daisy leaves that fell onto the floor and crumbled. Last, only in minimal amounts, there are small paper particles scattered among the only remaining adhesive. “Notebook frillies” that have been broken apart are the last of the scum stuck to the roller. These particles get lost in translation between the desk and the trash can, and then are ripped to tiny pieces simply from walking on them all day. Even after being picked up by the lint roller, the colors of notebook paper still remain on them. This trash may not be the prettiest of trash, but it is very colorful. Our own style of vacuuming makes cleaning a tad more practical and a smidgen more interesting. It’s always a mystery what that handy lint roller will pick up off our carpet, but no matter what, it does the job!