Do you ever sit down and think about all the “Stuff” you have collected over the years? Probably not on a regular basis. It usually happens when we spring clean, move to a new house, or for me…REMODEL!
Now mind you….I have just added STUFF to my house that belonged to my parents…that is how it all
happens….we grow up and leave home with very little stuff…at some point in time our parents give us “our stuff” their memory collection and then we collect our own STUFF…children’s medals, trophies, baby clothes, artwork, homework and much more….
Someone dies….we get more stuff…our children leave and won’t take their stuff…”I don’t have room for it”…rings a bell with me.
The only good thing about moving to another home is the opportunity to clean house and become unattached to some of that STUFF!
Going through a divorce is a time that many let go of memories…and start anew….But, somehow the stuff finds a way to re-populate.
For the last two months I have been in the throws of carpenters, painters, and floorers…so when given my marching orders to pack up or pay more for someone else to do it for me! I thought “No big deal”….YES a very big deal…Oh my goodness!
The dining room was a breeze….what can you really store in your dining room anyway? The family room not too bad…except for that chest I bought with about 12 storage drawers that needed to be emptied so it could be moved. Everything from place mats to CDs….candles to gift wrap…and the “oh where can I put this before guests arrive” stuff.
Moving upstairs to the bedrooms and the mama of all stuff….”MY OFFICE” was the most daunting.
I didn’t realize how much stuff can reside on a floor….so to get it off the floor it must go somewhere….thank goodness for bathrooms, an elevator and one closet in my office! Now bedrooms hold an array of stuff…shoes not worn for at least 5 years….off the floor and out the door! The discovery of 3 projects tucked in the back of the closet wait to be finished…and a gazillion photos as well as the clothes that needed to be weeded out….
So why is it that we save those clothes anyway….hoping to get back to that size…could be. Keeping that one blouse that you love so much…only to discover it is thread bear or has a hundred pill balls on it…
How about the thought…”my grandchildren can play dress up”….Hasn’t happened in this house and yet I have a floor full of dress-up back to the 60’s….the lovely glitter disco dress is a favorite don’t you think?
Last was my office, my life long friend just shook her head wondering if I would be ready for the carpets to be removed. Papers, tax returns, bank statements and files from a lifetime of jobs and development work…VCR tapes, floppy disks, zip disks, CDs, DVDs, more cables than I care to shake a stick at…not to mention the one appliance cable and 3 power plugs that I have no idea what they go to. Of course working in technology means a plethora of obsolete hardware and software placed on the floor.
A discovery was made as I sat on the floor looking at my life in boxes…memories, creativity in projects, journals, and inventions that represent who I was, who I became and who I am….daunting, amazing, sad, joyous and enlightening STUFF…my stuff!
So though we collect it and may not know how to manage it or can’t release it…
Some STUFF is of more value than you think….mine turned out to be the fabric of my life.