Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Urge to Purge

As you may know, we took down the crib.  I cried.  And once I was done crying I perked up at the idea of purging more unnecessary linens from my remarkably narrow and shallow linen closet.  All that crib bedding could go!  I love purging.  But I am also sentimental and hold on to too much stuff.  As I folded up the crib mattress sheet, I thought, "Oh, I need to save this for my first grandchild."

I mean, no more crib in my home is a big deal.  I need to find a sentimental connection.  But then I thought...really?  Would my son or daughter really want me to give them some 30-year old faded and stained piece of fabric when they welcome their first child into the world?  Now that both of my baby girls have bunk beds, what if my mother gave me my old bedding from my childhood.  I am picturing that yellow, orange and brown plaid sunflower pattern on my bedspread right now.  Eeew.  If my mother sent that to me in a box with a note saying "I saved this for your children!" I would be less than thrilled.  If it was retro-cool then I'd be all over it.  But instead it would feel like some crispy 30-year old piece of fabric.  And yellow, orange and brown plaid sunflowers is not retro; it's ugly.  (Sorry mom)  Therefore, I made my decision and put the bedding in a Goodwill bag.

Then my mother called.  She had to tell me how she finally took her cuckoo clock to a clock repair shop (this would have been the perfect time to fess up and tell her that guy I briefly dated in high school actually broke the clock chain - but I didn't.  I mean, it's been 24 years.  Does she really need to know this?).  It costs $250 to repair a cuckoo clock!?!  Anyway, she told me that one thing led to another and she uncovered some boxes she had never unpacked since moving 5 years ago.  Stuff of mine.  Stuff she saved for me - cards and some other junk.  She said that she put them aside to bring to me when she sees me next.  Thanks mom.  I'll find the perfect spot for all that sentimental stuff in my linen closet.

2 comments:

  1. LOL, I'm sorry, but the irony is pretty funny =) We recently cleared a bunch of boxes we never unpacked from our move four years ago out. We recycled, donated, etc, and it was so cool to see this open space in our garage. One step closer to world domination! (Or a clean garage, either or.)

    A day or two later, we wound up with five boxes of a relative's belongings to hang on to for an indeterminate amount of time.

    One step farther away from world domination once more. Sigh.

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  2. Sarah, thanks for reading and commenting.

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