Oh My

By Shar Ann Packard

We, or should I say I, am trying so hard to minimize the things in our house. I guess I should start with how we accumulated all these treasures. John and I will be married 50 years this year, and let me tell you how he hates to throw anything away. I have a few odds and ends from my childhood, not much because I didn’t have much growing up. I have a little doll about 8 inches tall, my graduation cards, my year books and I can really tell you that is about it. Then there is John’s stuff, some books, magazines, tools, a few boxes that has old shifting knobs, patches, track and football metals, and some very treasured things from his brother who passed away in the 70’s (which I have carefully packed and repacked as we moved from home to home over the years).

This is not where the trouble started. It was years of collecting things we loved to fill our house with and as our taste changed we would box things up or put it in the “back room” for later…when we had time to sort and toss. I must tell you that never happened. As we raised our kids, then added their things to ours…all being stuffed in that back room! That didn’t get cleaned out until we moved out…sad but some of it followed us here.

In the matter of 5 years we cleaned out five houses. My uncle passed away and left me his house full of everything, from ceiling to floor. Uncle Al liked to keep things too. Clothes, bobby pins, drapes, shoes, pots and pans…I could make a list that would take up this whole page as he threw nothing away including straws, napkins, cups, and pens, bags, from every store, restaurant, or bank he entered he tucked in his pocket something to bring home to call his very own. He was in his 80’s when he passed and lived in the house he gave me for over 60 years. He and Aunt Betty were wonderful loving folks but never had but a small bag out for the garbage man each week… after cleaning out his home I understood why. John’s Dad passed and his wife lived in the house we now live in for a few years and then it was left to us. She took her treasured belongings and went to live in her condo down south. Again we were left to sort, toss, donate, give away as they lived in the home for 30+ years. With this John had so many memories of things that belonged to his Dad, his siblings, and oh so much stuff…a thirteen room house full to the brim, plus the garage ( I won’t start on barns and sheds on the farm) We had to clean out our home before move here, we lived there for 37 years. Oh the things you can accumulate over the years are mind-boggling. A lot of the items were brought here to sort another day. My Mom passed away…here we go again. My brother and sister thought I was crazy but I said all I want is what I can carry in a shoe box. I just can’t bring any thing else into this house. I “kinda” kept to my word, but did bring home some Christmas village items to display in her honor. John however took his “tool and stuff” collection to a whole new level at Mom’s. Then we had the job of moving his step mom into assisted living and her apartment was very full of everyday living things and had to be sorted, donated and given away. John again can’t get rid of tools, so guess what happened… he has more boxes of tools and such for us (or me) to sort.

Now, back to that sorting, minimizing, and clearing out the “junk”. I asked John if he needed this calendar that was sitting on the table and moved from place to place. We don’t have another place to hang a calendar so I didn’t want to keep it. He said “YES, I want the address of the store it came from.” I strolled over to him and said “take a picture of it with your phone…you will have it forever,” and I tossed it in the trash. His response was “Now if I can find it on my phone…it will be great”.

Making a promise to myself to do at least a box a day was the goal. I have done very well at it and the last box I did, I put all the tools and things I didn’t know what he wanted to do with in a box to take out to the shop. I went about cleaning and sorting a few more things, and had to go to the garage. Much to my surprise on top of the boxes I have yet to sort was his box I just prepared for him to take to the shop. I just don’t know how we will ever get “balance” in this house with all this stuff…not only his, mine, Uncle Al’s, Dad’s, Mom’s, kids, and grand kids…and the things from loved ones passed we inherited. Where does it end? What do you keep and not keep? Where do you put it if you want to keep it? I am afraid our family after we pass will be writing this very article about all the “junk” we had, as they sort through our treasures we found hard to part with, shaking their heads, throwing it away and saying “OH MY!”

By Willie Smith