There is an old saying about someone’s trash being another mans’ treasure. I’m sure we’ve all been to a garage sale or an op-shop and found a ‘treasure’ that a few years later you look at and think what a load of junk!.
Our house doesn’t have a lot of storage — which makes it difficult when you’ve come from a big four bedroom house with lots of nooks and cranny’s for putting ‘stuff’. So I liken myself to a painter on the Sydney Harbour bridge — once I’ve been through all the rooms culling excess I start all over again and amazingly I find more ‘stuff’ to send to the op-shop.
Now I’m not methodical about the whole deal, but I have reducing my collections considerably in the past three years. (I won’t mention the garage yet — we don’t go there!) Still I’m finding it easier to eliminate things now than I did when we first moved house.
I’m also constantly looking at how I can make more room and make the house look less like Steptoe & Son. So I pondered awhile and came up with a new solution in one room, which meant a trip to the hardware store for some shelving. Then when we finally got it home — it did’t fit in Ross’s car so we had to come home and swap cars then go back to collect the big box which fitted quite nicely in my car.
Whilst Ross was assembling the shelves, I cleared out the old wardrobe and found lots of stuff I’d forgotten about. I got a lot done yesterday, but it’s going to be a few days before I complete the job, but at least I’ll know where things are.
I was re-packing some space bags as the others have died, when I came across a few treasures. I’ve kept tablecloths that fit tables I don’t have anymore — so asking myself the question “Why have I kept these?” There really isn’t any sentimental value to them, yet they take up valuable space. Thus the pile for the op-shop is growing again.
Then there are the treasures — the shawl my mum crocheted for my first child; the scraps of material from Kelly’s deb dress that I just can’t chuck out, and the beautiful patchwork quilts that Ross’s mum lovingly hand stitched. So back in the space bag they go whilst I search for another spot to keep them.
They say that time heals all wounds, and I think that time makes you look at those souvenirs and keep-sakes very differently. It allows you to be much more sensible and get rid of them when you probably needn’t have kept them in the first place.