Time to Cry Tuesday – The Purging Hoarder

Ok, I admit it, I am pretty sure I am a hoarder. My friend Karen tells me admitting it is half the battle.

So here is the thing; I am not the type of hoarder that has 50 cats or collects scraps of string till you can’t open a closet without being tied up in a web. I surely do not have dressers full of restaurant napkins or every pair of shoes since 1979. But I do tend to ‘keep stuff’. You know, because you never know when you will need it.

So, in blows hurricane Irene, and with it she takes away our power and decides to dump a nice helping of water in our sump pump that has no power to get rid of it. And there sits my office on the other side of that mess. Long story short, it became time to purge the contents of my office, take apart the oversized furniture and rip up the rug.

Although daunting at first, this has become not only cathartic, but almost enjoyable. Closing in on my birthday (yes,I am finally turning 40 : ) I have had the joy of finding long lost items and sentimentalities that have taken me on a journey back to long forgotten places. Here are the top five highlights, in no particular order.

1. A Diane Arbus book with an inscription from my best friend from camp on my 16th birthday! We have lost touch and it prompted me to find her. We have been writing and catching up on each other’s lives. As she quoted, ” Geography is the enemy of friendship.” I am trying to fix that.

2. Countless pieces of artwork and writing from my kids. Jana always says she wishes she and Danny could hang out with little Danny and little Jana.

This week we did. With a ‘You are the Best Mom in the Universe’ card, diaries, handmade books, photos and the ever famous Venus Williams report with the picture above. (note the A… great content and priceless drawing).

3. My childhood stuffed animal. (yes there are days I am tempted to hug it and rock back and forth in the corner.)

4. A book of drawings and poetry that I wrote in 1971… yeh, it was pretty groovy.

5. A missing case of my favorite CDs that I thought I left in a rental car in Wisconsin 2 years ago.

I still have a lot of stuff, and a lot more to go through. But I am starting to realize that even if I am giving away 10 boxes of books, the ones that stayed behind on the shelves are more important to me than ever; especially the children’s books.

I will never be a minimalist. I keep things that remind me of people, easier times, places, experiences. But I am trying my best to pair them down.

Hey does anybody need a pair of purple fuzzy dice?