Almost noon on a Saturday, and I've been busy (and moping just a little). Busy with trying to get my house clean and organized. I've been feeling the pressure of having too much stuff, of not being organized, and then there are things that are around for sentimental reasons.
Organized is the one thing that I do well. I tackle one area, one drawer, one closet at a time and organize to the nth degree -- easy peasy for me! Having too much stuff isn't as easy for me. I'm not a hoarder, I don/t save everything - probably don't save as much stuff as I ought to, but I grew up with the notion that you don't throw something out if its still useable. By the same token though, if you haven''t used something in over a year or two -- do you really need it at all???
Then there are the sentimental reasons for holding on to things. Stuff reminds us of who we are, where we've been, what shaped us up to this point. Take for example my fridge magnets. Back in the 70s and 80s, I collected spoons from places I traveled. But those need to be dusted, cleaned, and need a special rack on the wall to display them. During my apartment to apartment phase, it just didn't seem feasible to have them. (Yes, I kept them, they are in a tupperware box in a drawer somewhere... ugh). So I started collecting refrigerator magnets. They were always on the front of the fridge, and it reminded the kids of all the places we'd gone. But my kids are grown. And my magnets have moved from the front to the side of the fridge. I can't remember the last time I bought another one for my collection. Are they something to keep? And at my age, I ask myself "Will the kids ever want these when I'm gone?" Maybe I outta just shoot a picture of them, and be done. But for now, they're not taking up any valuable space for other things -- so they stay. for now.)
Where do you draw the line?
How much do you keep and store?
A million other people have advice on this topic. None of them can cover exactly what's right for your own personal needs/fulfillment to keep you happy. We all grow and change with age. Now that I'm in my 50s, on my last visit to my parents', I took a good look around. They have a four bedroom house full of stuff! My sister, my brother and I each have our own home as well, and gosh - what we all do with all of that stuff? Mom collected glassware. I don't think my brother does, I know my sister has one small set she has her eye on; I've collected glassware over the years, but feel bad about the few pieces I have. At some point, the three of us are going to have our hands full.
Which has also made me aware of this situation with my stuff. When I'm gone, my kids will toss most of these things I think are priceless "treasures" because of my sentimentality. To them, it will just be "stuff". So I keep trying to remember to be ruthless in my tossing things out. Get rid of what I call junk and clutter. Keep on the the things one needs, or can use.
I'm hoping to impart this wisdom upon my son today when we assemble the new cabinets, and fill them with stuff in the garage. The wisdom will come in knowing whether something will be useable in the future - or tossing it and having to buy another if we really need something down the road. I hate buying something when I had something perfectly acceptable to use, but tossed it.
I nodded off when I was writing this. the rest of the day was spent putting stuff into the new cabinets in the garage -- this is gonna be terrific! Now its 530 pm, and I lit a fire in the fire pit half an hour ago so that I could roast a hot dog over the fire. Because they taste so good! The fire will die out in about 20 mins, and I'll head back inside to finish up the rest of my chores. Sun has gone down, but left a tinge of pink against the wispy clouds to the east. Its so wonderful to look up and see those splashes of unexpected color! May your weekend be blessed :)
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