Stuff
June 2, 2023
As I grew, my hodgepodge included skeleton keys, canceled stamps, old coins, banknotes, jewelry, political campaign buttons and pins, weathered wood and rocks, and autumn leaves pressed between pages of my favorite books. One day, my mother took me to an antique shop filled with sparkling crystal, china, silver, brass, artwork, and furniture. We scrutinized each antique in the store, which initiated my next phase of acquiring curios.
Years transpired, I married, moved from one house to another, dragged my bits and pieces with me, and decorated each home with an assortment of my prized agglomerations. Visitors commented my home was a curiosity shop. Others said it looked like an antique emporium. But some people wondered why I had all this stuff in my house. It is not as though I am a hoarder; I am a visual person who enjoys owning and admiring collectibles, including my artistic creations.
Ridding my home of any object pains me, wondering if someone will admire it in a thrift shop, take it home, and treasure it as I did. Sometimes a dusting mishap solves my disposal issue, albeit a sad fate for that object. Other times items deteriorate, depreciate or lose importance. But trying to prioritize relinquishing my perceived valuables is a problem. During one of my moves, I decided to pack my most cherished and useful things and donate the remainder to charity. Then I remembered a woman who I once knew decided to have a garage sale to dispose of her heirlooms none of her family wanted. Afterward, she said it was a relief to know she would not burden her family with discarding her possessions. Several weeks following her garage sale, a notice of her funeral appeared in the newspaper. I wondered if she realized too late she had no tangible items to hold her here any longer. This delayed my eliminating any of my stuff for quite some time.
An interior decorator proffered a solution to my dilemma: “Purge your house of everything you have not used in the last year.” What good is that advice? Isn’t admiring decorative treasures in my home considered a “use” of them? Hence, here I am, wondering how to rid myself of precious possessions collected over the span of my lifetime, collectibles some people simply call stuff.
Image by Nancy Bryans
Connie Stewart • Jun 6, 2023 at 11:11 am
This is in response to “Stuff” story. I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE this article! It could have been written By and For ME! I attribute my “Stuff” world-collections to not having much as a child. My Mom couldn’t afford to support both my sister & I after a very abusive marriage she finally left. I went to live with my Wonderful Grandmother & Grand father…Nan Nan taught me to save basically everything….”You never know when you’ll need whatever….” could be a safety pin or a popsicle stick . As I grew I continued “saving” and when saw inexpensive or free items at yard sales or curbside I’d bring them home..hearing her voice still. Dinner plates, tablecloths & napkins all to set a beautiful table makes the meal better. All my shelves and walls are full, having friends for dinner is so fun deciding which dishes to use. People who come over say it’s like a museum and they enjoy looking. I too am a visual person…but I have too much and dread the thought of donating to “certain Donation places” that have stuff piled up to ceiling when you look through their storage area door, and see items tossed into dumpster…why not have a couple of days a month and put “Free day ” in the parking lot? The woman who passed away after her yard sale really rang a bell with me. I once told Mom, “If I should pass away look in the pockets of my coats, I sometimes put $5 or 10 or $20 in pocket, emergency money, probably no more than $50 in all”. She said “You better go through your pockets now, because if you should pass I’m going to call “one of the donation places” and tell them to back up the truck and take it all. You have so much stuff it makes me nervous.” So, I’ve emptied my pockets, but still have pictures and curios and tablecloths with matching napkins…. If you find an answer to your last paragraph, please post it..our stuff is like a photo album and maybe a LP album of our Life, since we both See and Hear stories in our “Stuff”.
Nancy Bryans • Jun 17, 2023 at 4:03 pm
Thank you, Connie, for your comments on my “Stuff” story. I knew I was not alone in my dilemma. We should use all of our collections, especially the finer pieces because if your family is like mine, none of the younger generations want any of our treasured possessions. Yesterday I chipped a dinner plate, one of four remaining in a set. I didn’t grieve but decided to use those plates under my green potted plants to add some color. Of course, I didn’t get rid of anything but simply repurposed those dinner plates. Oh, my!