Some folks call it Spring cleaning while others call it de-cluttering, downsizing or purging. I call it hard work. When we go through the memories of the past, or struggle over what to hang on to and what to get rid of, it should be a piece of cake, right? “Simplify,” they say. “It’s only stuff.” or “you can’t take it with you.” Very true, but to go through a lifetime of accumulated memories isn’t as easy as you’d think it should be. There are the baby books of your children, countless photographs, things from Great Grandma’s dining room, dust covered and unused things that hold some value to us – often because they hold memories rather than monetary value.
Then there are the things of actual value – the accumulated words of poetry, fiction, stories and plays written. The compilation of a lifetime of artwork. Things that describe who we are and what we’ve accomplished. Does any of that really hold any true value? Sometimes it does. Watching Antiques Roadshow and Storage Wars, we see that much of our trash can be valuable to someone. It’s a matter of getting in touch with the right people at the right time.
We know our years are numbered. Our stuff will probably still be in the same place we left it when we die. Our kids will have the pleasure of getting rid of most of it, maybe making a few bucks off of it, or just toss it away. The fact is, we can’t take any of it with us, so why is it so hard for us to let go of it? Memories, like faded photographs of our ancestors, will get tossed in a box with no identification and only guesses who they might be. Purging can be cathartic, but it can also be painful.
Any change in life is difficult, but if we realize that God is in control of all of it, we should be relieved of any anxiety or fear about the future. Even when everything is a little out of focus and unsure. Letting go of what’s behind us isn’t always easy, but how will we ever know the joys God has in store for us, unless we follow His lead. He has promised to bring us safely to our final destination.
atimetoshare.me 
I got a real chuckle from the cartoon. I was taking a break from my own house cleaning when I read your post. I still get a reminder from my wife that when we moved from Florida back to California that we sold or gave away First Edition books, even though we had already read them. Fortunately, we didn’t make the same mistake when we moved from California to Northern Michigan in 2019, where we were both raised. Appreciate your weather reports. We get it about two days later with the “lake effect.”
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I’m trying to figure out where to start with spring cleaning. Should I wash the windows? There’s major road construction going on just a short distance from our house. Those windows are going to be dirty again next week. It’s too early to garden. Maybe I’ll wait another week for more snow. Actually our weather this week is amazing so you have something to look forward to!
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I’d certainly wait on the windows!!
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Thanks for that affirmation.
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Concurring – some things become less valuable some more valuable. There’s that (well defined by you) – pull of memory that keeps us attached to objects. You articulate things that I too have thought, nice to have someone do that. Blessings.
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Kathy, I can definitely relate to all that you have written. My wife and I recently completed our first phase of re-appropriating the space in our spare room. Living through the pandemic and ignoring the room turned it into a storage facility. Now we are ready for the next phase. We need to sort through her mother’s stuff, which has been waiting patiently in storage away from our apartment.
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The first house I grew up is for sale and seeing the pictures online it has been totally remodeled. I will be writing in more detail about it. I met the owner in 2010 who bought the house from my Mom in 1970 and the owner passed away in 2014. The owner saved everything. My father had mirrors throughout, built a bar, refinished a huge basement. We even sold basement furniture to that owner. Everything is gone now even the bar. Fortunately, I have it all on home movies. But now, it is just a house. Today, my house is filled with art, books, my children’s stuff and antiques…memories.
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I continue to collect things too, even though I know they have no value to anyone else, but me. All of the old China from both grandmas, and my own is sitting in a box never to be used again. I also have collections of Santas and theatrical masks.
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