Three day weekends are always a chance for me to catch up on some sort of project around the house. Usually, it involves organizing or trashing a bunch of stuff that should’ve been tossed years ago. Yesterday, I tackled the garage and today I addressed the dreaded utility room.
I use the word “dreaded” because our utility room has become a sort of purgatory, for our belongings. Sure, there are things that need to be stored, such as luggage and Christmas decorations. Most everything else is in a state of limbo. Resting quietly until we have the time and the gumption to get rid of it.
Today was strictly about cleaning and organizing and not so much about purging. I probably spent the first hour on task and then it seemed harder and harder to resist rummaging through some old items.
I have bins upon bins of “memory boxes” full of random personal artifacts. Digging through these boxes always brings me to a place of reflection. For whatever reason, I don’t have the best recollection of my childhood and teenage years. So, it helps to have left some bread crumbs to find my way back to memory lane.
Of course, there were tons of pictures that triggered memories that I wish I could forget (i.e. pictures of the terrible ’90’s hairdo), but among the fun things I found were:
- My first sticker book filled with Michael Jackson, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Garfield, Scratch-N-Sniff and Unicorn stickers.
- My collection of Matchbox cars.
- An old harmonica that my grandpa Wojociechowski gave me.
- A tiny red telescope that I bought at Santa’s workshop in grammar school.
- A Brownie sash.
- Old uniforms, plaid skirts and polos.
- An old recorder that looks brand new.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) folders from high school that are stronger than ever, due to the contact paper they were wrapped in.
- A sketch pad.
- Cookie Monster stuffed animals and a Pound Puppy.
- My favorite yellow walkman.
Sometimes I struggle with whether or not I should keep all of this stuff. When will it be appropriate, if ever, to put these pieces of my past behind me? I mean, even though I will never have any said “use” for these things, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to throw them out. They seem to be a connection to my past and it’s nice to be able to travel through time just by holding them in my hands.
I enjoy taking a stroll down Memory Lane, once in a while, even if it does turn my weekend project into a month-long event.
Everything Belongs 