Well, y'all, I have had a very productive week. The fact that we have so much stuff, junk, collectibles, if you will, that we have accumulated over the last 50 years has been bothering me for a long time. It was either dispose of a lot of it, move to a bigger house (which ain't never gonna happen) or go crazy (the most logical conclusion). How did I get myself into this mess, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.
One of our granddaughters, Trinity, has been living with us for the last year while she attends college and works part-time. She's one of those busy little beavers you see in the big box store shopping for those who order online. She seems to like it. The little hand-held scanner she carries tells her where to go next to get an item on her list. Smart, huh? I haven't used her services yet since that would require that I think ahead for what I need and order it. I spend a lot more money showing up in person since I can impulse buy with the best of them. Hence the need to clear out some of the clutter. We won't mention the recently passed prime shopping days at the big box store on the internet. Let's just say I did my part in keeping the economy boosted. (And probably gave the poor USPS man a hernia.)
I decided I'd start in our granddaughter's room thinking, since she'll be with us for a few more years, we should take most everything out and let her decorate it to make it more homey for her. Anyway, that's how I got myself into this mess. As long as I could cram stuff into the spare closet and dresser drawers I could keep my motto 'out of sight, out of mind,' intact.
I started by dragging everything out of the closet that wasn't hers. This included several school yearbooks, dozens of picture frames (some with family photos still in them), several spare sheets, blankets, and pillows, a sheep skin rug we bought when we lived in South America, several coats including David's old Army coat, dresses I'll never get into again, including my wedding dress, and a quilt I bordered with prairie points. I made that one over 30 years ago and, boy, I vowed to never do that again and I haven't.
That was just the closet! The dresser drawers were filled with photos, old cassettes, old compact disks, an old walkman, more picture frames (and still I buy another when I want to frame a new picture), a few crocheted blankets given to me, and various knick-knacks that haven't seen the light of day in a few years. Then there are all the photos and paintings hanging on the walls and various cute tchotchkes decorating the shelves and top of the dresser. Most of it qualifies as gimcrackery but I like them so there's that.
Unfortunately for me, Trinity is more of a minimalist like her aunt Stefanie. They certainly didn't get that from me. I abhor a blank wall or space.
I gathered everything she didn't want to and placed it (threw it is more like it) into my office for further sorting and inspecting. That would have been okay if it weren't already filled to the top with cra...I mean, collectibles that I have no place else to store so once we got Trinity's room all clear and ready for her to add her own touches, I tackled the office.
I took everything out of my 'Fibber's' closet and placed it (threw) in the middle of the floor for more sorting. I wondered if anyone would want any of my treasures. Not too long ago, or so it seemed, I had purged a great deal from that room but, honestly, I think it multiplies during the night.
I worked hard every day sorting and boxing up what the kids or grandkids might like and what I wanted to donate to the thrift store. If you know me, you know that was really hard. Not hoarders hard but still hard. I rejoiced in a job well done since we now had a home with room to grow although David would probably disagree.
As I stood admiring my handiwork and being proud that I'd finally executed this monumental task I heard David calling my name. He sounded like he was a long way away. Our house isn't that big! Where is he? I wondered. I turned to my left to see where he might be and fell out of bed! I hurried to Trinity's bedroom to discover that it was all a dream! Everything was still there. My dream had turned into a nightmare.