Too much stuff. Our kids have long been grown, but behind the eaves are hundreds of silly reminders that there were once 4 kids living here. A dusty game of Chutes and Ladders alongside fossilized hand prints and well-read comic books, revealing patterns and telling stories about our family's culture of the 80"s. Somehow, we wonder why we can' throw these out.
We're not hoarders because we've parted with a lot of our own junk. A dozen dumpsters and garage sales can attest to that. It's just these sentimental, still interesting kids' things that seem to pose the problem. There they are... Barbies, a Simpson chess set and various dinosaurs, all reminders of time spent together when the house was full and we were all so much younger.
In addition to these relics from 40 years ago, there are also large and intricate Legos that our grandsons have more recently constructed. Battleships and X-wing fighters that require respect and have their own designated, sacred high ground in the attic, temporarily away from the hands of the little ones.
Where do you suppose Georgie most likes to play when he comes to visit? Of course, he can't wait to climb the stairs to rummage through the hallowed, dusty cardboard boxes and wooden trunks. Last time, he discovered a Speak n' Spell that miraculously still worked. Before that, it was Pa's sketch pad from when he was a boy in the 1950's. OMG!
So, what do we do? I've asked the kids to come look through these boxes and they've mostly laughed, saying that we can do with them whatever we want. They've gotten over it. But, the younger ones haven't finished checking it all out. Just the other day, Georgie found "googley eyes" and we laughed at them and made faces for hours. Till the little kids are done exploring and finding fun amidst our memories, I guess we'll leave the attic just as it is.
Have you been downsizing? Purging? Or are you adding family to your apartment or condo space without room to spare? Check in and let us know what you're up to and why.
