I have a lot of clutter in my house. Every day I dream about decluttering but then I think about throwing out my stuff and my dream turns into a nightmare. The majority of items I have are not valuable but most have a sentimental value attached.
My Grandma Chipman lived in the same house I now live in for 50 years. She passed away at the age of 96 in 2002. Many people will remember her yard sales. She loved yard sales and counting all of that change.
Even in her 90s, she would carry everything in and out. She would have a sale almost every Friday and Saturday during the summer months. She had a one-car garage and she kept it filled with her yard sale bargains.
She would visit other yard sales and buy or let them give her all that was left. I come from a large family and when we cleaned out our closets or decluttered, we always gave our items to Grandma for her sales. We kept her well stocked.
Even today when an older person asks where I live, some will say,” Oh that was the house where that nice lady always had yard sales”. I think she liked the conversation with her customers as much as she liked the sales.
I did not take after my grandmother when it came to yard sales. I have never been a yard sale fan. I have had a couple of sales and hated both of them. I have gone to a few sales over the years but yard sales are not my cup of tea. I would rather sleep in on Saturday mornings than go bargain hunting.
By the time I would get up and go, all of the good stuff would be gone. At this stage of life, I don’t need anything else. My house is full and I need to stay away from the temptation of bringing more home.
In addition to the sentimental items, shoes and books are some of the things I have trouble parting with. I have quite a collection of both.
Even when I am looking at shoes in the stores, I am continually telling myself, I do not need another pair. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. A lot of my “stuff” belonged to my grandmothers and my mother.
I have my grandmother’s flour sifter that has to be as old as I am. I rarely use it but I could not begin to part with it. A few weeks ago, I had family members over for a Sunday dinner.
When I got out the banana pudding for dessert, my brother asked if that was the same bowl Mom served banana pudding in when we were children.
I was surprised he recognized it but he did. That is what I mean about my sentimental items. How could I sell or give away Mom’s bowl? When I am gone I am sure my kids will wonder why I kept some of that stuff because they won’t know who gave it to me or who it once belonged to.
More than likely, most of my stuff will be tossed into a dumpster and taken away and that is okay. I won’t have to watch it go and I certainly won’t need it anymore.
Revis Blaylock is a writer for the NEA Town Courier. She may be reached by phone at 870-763-4461 or by email at revisb@neatowncourier.com.