Whoa! Life got busy with the holidays and getting organized for the new year - 2016. I'm not completely there yet, okay I'm not even half way there; okay - at least I've started. Still have some rooms to go through and projects to finish up. All in good time. But, then again there's no time like the present. Do you think we really ever get "there"? You know - the closets have been cleaned out, Goodwill has all your "stuff" - never "junk" because we don't keep "junk". But, do we really ever get "there"? "There" being where we know where everything is because it has a place or the kids now have it and you don't really care what they do with it. What about the "catch all" room who's going to clean it out?
Winter is the perfect time for doing such a chore. You're shut in the house and the cold keeps everyone else from going outside and knocking on your door. It always feels so good to decorate the house for the holidays. It even feels better after they're over and you stand back and take a nice long look at the sparkling clean rooms. A sigh of relief passes and you feel that life can get back to normal again. Except when that nagging sciatica shows up to hang around for over a week congratulating you on all the hard work you did. Nothing that a really good massage can't take care of.
A good reason comes to mind about getting "there". Death. Attending a funeral for someone who is in your same age bracket makes one think about it all. Thoughts of family going through the "stuff" and cursing under their breaths about how much "stuff" there is to go through makes one cringe. Some of us have already been on this end of it with our parents. It felt so good to know that Mother kept my school papers or my favorite poncho. But, now what happens to it other than sitting in a box somewhere. Leaving our "stuff" for someone else who doesn't have the emotional attachments to discard it isn't what we want. But, sometimes making that final discard decision isn't what we want either.
There is a separation of family now. The kids have different thoughts about "stuff". They don't really care if it belonged to your grandmother/father because they didn't know them. They don't have the emotional attachments to our "stuff" that we do. Antique stores are FULL of this "stuff". They would be a gold mind if the kids would go retro and shop there. Most "stuff" has more than one purposeful use than its' original selling point. Making curtains out of tablecloths for the dinning room gets lots of compliments. Using old dresser scarves for knitting project bags or a toddler's diddie-bag is very useful. Lots of things have more than one purpose and its fun sharing with others and seeing their reactions about what it was or how you made it work for you.
Death makes us think of other things as well. Have we taken care of the "stuff" rattling around in our heads? Do we need to get "there" with someone? Do we need to say "I Love You" more often? Do we need to leave instructions on what to do with our "stuff" after we're gone? There are some things that are just too good to go to the thrift store or the charity shop. People are too kind to ask about the yarn stash or the stamp collection for fear of being too insensitive to the family's emotions.
Yup, now is the time to get "there" and do something with all this "stuff". hmmm, okay - tomorrow is the time to get "there" and .......
Ciao!
