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| So Many Memories (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Not that I've been doing much house cleaning of late, but it's something that is high on my list of things I need to do. And I'm talking declutterization, organization, and those types of things. Going through life's accumulations can be like an archaeological dig. Or a study of historical records. A journey through the past. Housecleaning can be functional as well as interesting and entertaining.
The many piles and caches I have strewn about my house and tucked away in remote places normally unseen by anyone who might step into my abode are not necessarily messy. They're more like an organized chaos. A visitor who might just happen to notice our home amassment would probably think it seemed organized, but the fact is that everything is merely piled neatly.
Whenever I do tackle one of these piles or areas, I typically start getting bogged down in reflection. Memories start welling up as look through my possessions. Sure, some of it is easily discarded, but other items become more difficult to decide upon. Should I get rid of this or not? That question pops up repeatedly and usually this will bring about a decision to postpone the decision. It seems like whenever I do get rid of a questionable item like this, somewhere down the road I'll wish I had kept it.
Sometimes I think I should just open a museum. Or maybe I should rent a small warehouse. Organizing and documenting can be a huge undertaking, but for preserving memories properly it's a necessity.
Do you have a lot of personal memorabilia? How do you organize your accumulations? Do you enjoy going through old stuff and dredging up memories?
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I have tons of memorabilia and I can't seem to get rid of it. I lost a lot of it in my divorce b/c I was trading for things I really wanted. Sad thing is, I have no children to pass it onto but I can't bring myself to toss it either. Everything has a memory attached to it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a common dilemma for us who like to preserve the past. At what point is it too much? Good question.
ReplyDeleteI tend to look at these things in bunches (or in your case in stacks). One at a time isn't too much to go through - when I'm in the mood. I make three sorting piles: keep, discard, and think about (hesitation isn't necessarily a bad thing).
Think of all the good memories you'll stir up Lee!
My mother gave me a good tip once. She told me that if I'm holding on to an object solely because of the memory it evokes, to write down the memory. (You can also photograph the item.) Our fear of letting go of the thing is really our fear of forgetting the associated memory, and writing it down prevents that from happening.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been THAT successful at implementing it, but I did finally discard some old non-fitting clothes after writing stuff down.
Obviously there are things we should keep, but one suggestion I heard was to photograph things, then scrapbook about them. It helps de-clutter while still preserving the memory.
ReplyDelete(Well, it does if you don't go overboard buying scrapbooking supplies. :P)
I have lots of things I'm holding onto for fear I just might need it one day. Decluttering has been on my to-do list for a while now.
ReplyDeleteJoJo -- I do have kids but I don't know how much of my stuff they would want.
ReplyDeleteDG -- Decluttering and organizing gives us something to do. Like a hobby. It can be kind of fun sometimes.
Kelly-- I guess it depends on what the items are. For some things a photograph just won't do. Can you imagine going to a museum that only had photographs of artifacts that had been discarded because they were taking too much room?
Melissa --Scrapbooking is something I've often thought of doing. Ah, the time.
Wanda -- I think most of us have de-cluttering mission on our minds for someday.
Lee
Its simple solution is to make up a cleaning schedule. If you have a perfect cleaning schedule then you will never forget your activities.
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I was always the family historian, but the memorabilia has even more meaning now that my husband has died. Sometimes I need to reach out to him, so I look for letters that he wrote me, or Valentine's day cards, or photos. And while looking for one thing, of course, sometimes i get on a tangent in another direction.
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