Archeological Dig (aka cleaning closets & garage)

So let me just begin by telling you that I get very attached to things! Whether it’s a grade school paper, a souvenir from a trip, or even my broken childhood jewelry box. My daughter says I have a condition; called something I can’t remember. But let’s just say I’m a keeper. Which essentially means I see all of these items as an extension of me, part of my history, and part of my experience on earth. Thus, it is hard for me to throw anything away. Now when I say anything I mean, my old Instamatic camera I got for my twelfth birthday, or my favorite plaid maxi-coat.

While my intellectual self understands that these items are no longer of use to me. My inner being believes that if I throw them out, I may be throwing away part of my self.

Now that I understand this better, (thanks to my college educated daughter). I am trying to break free and clean my garage/closets with more abandon. Oh no, there’s that word, “my dear maxi-coat I will not abandon you!”

I think this helps you see why I might be hesitant to begin such a project. But I am happy to report some success. I actually sent a slightly used electric blanket off to a new home, along with a framed print that once graced my wall. Unfortunately, when it came down to framed needlework that I had actually made myself, letting go became too hard. And I also decided I loved something enough to hang it back up.

Alexandra Kovach, who lost her home in a fire, was quoted in the Washington Post in 2007: “It isn’t just a house… Our homes are our foundations, retaining in their walls our memories and all the experiences that happen within them.” For me these objects are an extension of my home that have travelled with me through time.

Part two of archeological digging is the unearthing of our past. I believe even the most successful, happy people we know have had some unsettled or unreviewed past. So, finding old bills, photos, letters, or income tax returns, that remind us of our past life is not always joyful. While they bring back memories, not all are ones we want to re-live. For me touching an object from a certain time or place somehow makes it more real. It brings me back and reminds me of how far I have come.