It’s a good thing to purge once in a while.
I’ve been a bit of a pack rat over the year, and I know where I get it from – my family. But it’s something I’m starting to change and I’m coming to learn the benefits of cleaning out the closet every now and then to get rid of all the stuff that seems to gather over the years.
And, well, has it ever gathered.
I’m not talking about the things that really matter – family heirlooms, cherished keepsakes, the little knick knacks that have some personal, sentimental value or objects that have actual monetary value.
It can be hard to separate it all out sometimes because of a perceived connection that really isn’t as important as we think it is.
The basement storage room at my parent’s house is a perfect example of this quandary, and everyone in my family is guilty of hoarding stuff away in that little room.
My parents are redoing part of the basement so it’s time to start sorting it all out. It’s time to do the purge we’ve been putting off for many, many years and I was called in to help start the process over the weekend.
The boxes full of my grandmother’s tea cups and china and my great-grandmother’s wine glasses can stay, same with the old family pictures.
I’m not going to part with my old Star Wars toys or hockey cards yet (they’re worth something) but I’m considering selling my old comic books.
Then there’s the other stuff. My mom swore to start going through all the boxes of Christmas decorations. The humidifier from when I was a kid stored in its original box? That went out this weekend. The boxes full of boxes? Gone. My great-great-grandmother’s stoneware chamber pot? Umm… I didn’t know what to say about that one.
We made a dent, so I suppose it’s progress.
Please don’t get visions of the ‘Hoarders’ TV show. It’s not that bad, but it’s definitely fair to say everyone in my family is a bit of a pack rat and it’s long past time we started sorting out some of this stuff.
It’s a good exercise to consider what’s truly valuable and purge out the stuff that’s no longer needed.
I would never part with the family bible, the horse shoes made by my grandfather or the book set Winston Churchill gave my great-uncle William John Patterson, a former premier and lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan.
I’m not ready to give up a few of the knick knacks and momentos I’ve gathered over the years. But, to be honest the world will keep turning if I parted with a lot of the stuff I’ve collected over the years.
So, anybody want some Superman comics? My movie poster collection from my days working in a Calgary video store in the ‘90s.
How ‘bout a chamber pot?
