I\’m done.Oh, not for all time but for today: about an hour and a half after the recycle truck emptied my blue can, I\’ve filled it again with a lifetime of memories that serve no purpose. Broken frames containing my dad\’s diplomas. Spider web encrusted papers that were purchased for printers that stopped working years ago (and that need to be moved to the \’non-working electrical item\’ pile that is steadily growing alongside the path to the freezer). The large cardboard boxes said items came from that have been stacked in a leaf and web covered corner for the past nearly seven years, unopened, and that have served as a convenient ladder-perch for the cat. Unlabeled cassettes (my cassette carriers are full to the brim and I am only keeping the full ones that have labeled cassettes because who knows … I might get an urge to play some of them one day). A single glove.My heart soared as I came upon a box filled with vinyl. Albums: 78, 33-1/3, and 45. Two copies of one from the Mad Daddies; it was good to look on Don\’s face. Only one casualty made me sadder than I expected: a Blue Note album without a cover that I wanted to claim but believe belonged to Christopher from some very long ago. For unknown reasons, it hurt less to throw it away, once I ceased laying claim to it …A photo of my son from his preschool (I think) graduation (I\’d have to do math to be sure …). Kept that.I stopped at a box that had silver photo frames, among other things, in it. You know the kind … silver plate, popular from about 1950 to 1980, cardboard backing, tarnished, filled with possible relatives that only your mother\’s auntie\’s eldest sister\’s third husband\’s stepson would know. Maybe.I grow weary of remembering, of looking at the stacks of items that were to be cleaned out when someday got here.It\’s someday and I wish it was all finished.But still:There is a sense of adventure, of Christmas-present-Easter-egg-hunt-Find-and-Seek all rolled together, as I open each box.Two books I can use with my research students. Score.A box of paper clips — always useful.Notepads? A daily must.Functional Sharpie markers. Need I say more?And now, a drive is in order. I found a ska CD with misspellings on the cover. It will be good to hear it as I drive with the windows open. If it is scratched, it will also be discarded once I return …I decided to start taking photos during Operation Find the Garage; didn\’t think of it when I started, but I had stopped for about two months. Motivated again in May, I lurk in the shadows to await the beginning of the week garbage trucks. I fill the actual garbage can and the recycle one as well in about, as mentioned, an hour and a half. Depending on the level of nostalgia, it can take three hours or so. In one day. I will post a final share when the process is actually finished.
You are a legend! I look forward to doing a happy dance for you when you say you’ve finished :)I’m about to start a clean-out…in a day or two (or three). I don’t have a garage, just multiple boxes piled in the corner of my bedroom and under the bed (note to self: clean out wardrobe too). I know I’m going to find a box of photo frames complete with photos, and I know I don’t have enough walls in my two-room granny apartment to display them all. And even if I did, think of all the extra dusting ~sigh~
Ha! A dust, dirt, cobweb, and leaf covered legend 🙂 My garage door, as I suspect many do, has spaces. When the winds get heavy, the leaves blow in and collect behind and in between everything. I swept out some but as I move more things, I find more leaves. I figured I’d just wait until I clear the floor. I hope to go through my lateral files as well. Someday 🙂