When I waken in the night and the dark cloud of worry descends what is it that causes me the most dismay???
Well, I will tell you....
It's STUFF - all the STUFF we accumulated in almost seventy years of marriage,
Starting with just our wedding presents, my trousseau and Charles' uniform, and look what I have arrived with!! My darling chickened out on this one......
Just a small birds-eye view of the shelves of genealogy information, baskets of wool, pictures on the wall, pictures in boxes because there is no more room on the walls, remnants of cones of weaving cotton, warps and spinning fibres, thirty years of Handwoven and Spin-Off magazines, to say nothing of the Knitting mags that are my passion and folly.
And then there are the files, the music tapes, the DVDs and VSRs, the CDs, purchased and homemade - hundreds of them (it seems) - and the BOOKS!!! And the snapshots! Oh, thousands of them, neatly divided chronologically into families, waiting to be dispersed.
To say nothing of the china and the silver plates and teasets we received as wedding gifts, there being no electrical appliances on the market yet after the war.
And so I am 'on a mission' to simplify.
I started with the books, - gathered up a great box full and a smaller box full of books that I thought others would enjoy and that I will probably never read again, - books that arrived on a whim because they had an inviting cover and books that really have no relevancy to my way of life right now.....(Milton Cross's Complete Stories of the Opera which I purchased from a book club even before I was married).
I put the boxes out in plain view and family bookworms came and inspected them and now I only have a bagful left!!!!
Most days in January have found us in an inverted bowl of fog and mist, so this is a good project, but today I must venture out to the bank and the grocery store and renew my supply of Orange Brandy!
And go to the Church to do the Pew Bulletins for tomorrow's service.
As I go I am planning to dig around in the snow to see how the Hellebores are doing, and if they are sending up little green stubs to bloom in Lent.....
6 comments:
I must say - re stuff - Hildred, that when I married the farmer twenty two years ago this year, I did clear out much of my stuff from my previous life, apart from my first husband's wonderful paintings, which the farmer is more than happy to have on the wall. My greatest hoarding is books - I cleared a lot to the charity shop but now I keep getting new ones either as presents or those I buy myself as irresistible. I try not to lose sleep over the problem though.
We, too, have been cleaning out and dispersing our "stuff" and many, many books have been donated to the library. All the old family photos going back to great-grandparents have been given to a son who is interested in genealogy. Clothing that hasn't been worn in 2 years has been donated. I still have a small storage area in the garage to tackle this summer, but I'm feeling relieved. Much less clutter here in Breckenridge. Think of me when you have a sip of the brandy, Hildred!
I too have been clearing out books, now waiting for fire season to be over to start on anything in the sheds that I can burn.
The accumulation of 'stuff' is magical--as we tackle yet another move we wonder how and why we hauled along what arrived here from the last house.
I admit that much of the 'indoor' belongings are due to my need for books--and fabric--and magazines--and dishes--but Jim's tools and oddments have nearly filled the shop at the new farm with an overflow into the barn.
During the past year I have vowed to sort all the genealogy notebooks and scribbles into some order on the Legacy file--it all takes hours to accomplish.
Oh Hildred, I know the feeling of all the things we accumulated in the course of many years! But now the time of spring cleaning is good to throw away a lot of things I never use anymore.
thanks for your visit.
WIL, ABCW Team.
Of course we had to simplify when we sold out to travel, but it is amazing and somewhat frightening to see how 'stuff' accumulates even in the small spaces in which we live.
This afternoon I shall use your post as motivation to clean out a bedroom closet that sorely needs it. If I could, I would thank you by bringing a bottle of that orange brandy so that we could toast each other's accomplishment!
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