Thinning – in all its meanings

a thinned-out trail in Eureka Springs

 . . . with each throb, he fretted at the thinning shell.  . . . and the dusk was thinning. . .  in thinning out the opposition . . . the extent of the thinning must depend on the vigor . . .  The final thinning should take place after . . .  the growth intended before thinning . . . slopes fall through ever-thinning pasture lands to sheer desert . . . attend to the thinning of spinach, onions, turnips . . . and thinning of fruit . . . thinning the plants at an early stage . . .the thinning, and topping of the beets.

Ahead of her was the darkness of a thinning forest. He opened the envelope and read the note, his lips thinning down almost to . . . The air cooled appre­ciably and the ever-thinning atmosphere caused . . . At the final thinning, they should be set from . . .

“Thinning” the body with Thin Mint cookies???? I think not! (Housekeeping 101 site) 
Judicious and timely thinning so as to allow the trees room . . .

My BFF Dot and I often talk about “thinning” out our domiciles. That means tossing, recycling (giving away included here), shredding and/ or sharing. Even a fellow writer claimed to be “going through papers (with the intent to toss as much as possible) . . .” And last year during Lent, I “thinned” daily and gave to SCJOHN, Saline County’s helping organization. Someone said the items were picked up quickly.

The two opening paragraphs are some of what Cortana found when I asked her for “sentences with ‘thinning’ in them.” It sounds like the word has only one basic meaning, doesn’t it?  

So I must decide, for the sake of my children and grandchildren, to “thin” my possessions. Where to begin? In my office is a surfeit of paper used on one side and waiting to be used on the other side. It’s probably four inches thick. Thin it down to one inch.

Four African violets crammed and jammed into their pots need thinning. The plant that I’ve already thinned into six parts/ pots could use a thinning of the longer, outer leaves to give the center leaves more energy to heal from the surgery.

In the living room, two “crates” of CDs need new homes. Books bought for future reading that have sat for eight-to-ten years might need rethinking—and sharing with Friends of the Library.

And how long to keep tax information? Two sites, both IRS, gave anywhere from three to seven years. OK, I can shred several years’ worth of those. (But first, I must file this year’s taxes!)

What about cupboards and cabinets and closets and drawers and open shelves with knick-knacks--some gifts, some ‘fleas’? Can I toss anything that doesn’t have a pear motif? No, indeed. That would include bluebird coasters from one sister, ‘sister’ plaques from other sisters.

What I CAN do is quit collecting either blue glass or pear-motif pieces. Aw, but that’s no fun. Maybe I’ll ‘rethink’ thinning altogether.

Already down to one cat. Now to 'thin the books.'