Seriously, who doesn’t like Spring cleaning? I know it’s not exactly spring, yet. But, this time of year always makes me excited to toss and regift and donate. There’s something therapeutic about it. You hold on to all of this stuff until one day you wake up and none of it means anything. Surprise! You can’t remember why you bought any of it in the first place.
A couple years ago, my Mom called me and told me she was cleaning out my old room. She said there was a bunch of stuff in the closet. Old notebooks filled with handwritten notes, keychains and guitar picks. Knick knacks. There was a subwoofer I’d bought on sale in 2008 with the intention of putting it into my much earlier 2000’s champagne Toyota Camry.1 But, I’d never had enough money to buy an amplifier, so the thing just sat in the top shelf of the closet. Two-hundred dollars collecting dust.
I wish I could time travel just to go back and tell myself to not be an idiot. Save your money. Think about how many thousands of dollars you’ll have in the future, I’d say. You don’t need this $60 pocket knife like you think you do. That Playstation 2? There will be a nice winter jacket down the road that you’ll appreciate much more for the same price. I guess that’s really what the difference is as an adult. You get excited by functional items. New pots and pans. The nonstick kind that you’re not supposed to use metal cutlery on, but you do it anyway because, fuck it, you’re an adult. Excuse me while I show my age.
Anyway, my Mom asked me what I wanted her to do with my old junk and I said to toss it. She said, “all of it?” I said, yes. It’s been over a decade since I even remembered I had any of it. Those things may as well be gone. She said, “so, you want me to get rid of everything?”
Then, last summer, while at home visiting, my Mom tells me, “Oh, I need you to come upstairs and go through this stuff and tell me what you want.”
In my old bedroom, she opens my old closet and starts pulling out old boxes. Inside are the trinkets. The stuff I’d told her to throw away years ago. The notebook filled with angsty poems and mental mumbo-jumbo from high school. I said, “Mom, I told you to throw all of this away.” She’s yanking my old knock off Fender Strat out of the closet and says, “you want me to give this away?” Yes. Donate it. I don’t care. I live three thousand miles away and I don’t have any use for this stuff. She flips through my notebook filled with the cringe-inducing rantings of a teen. “I just feel bad,” she says. My skin crawls.
I don’t know why it’s so hard to understand that I don’t typically place sentimental value on objects. That’s a Virgo thing, I’m sure they say. Someone would say it. Go ahead, all you astrology freaks, say it!
Anyway, I threw most of it away because my Mom couldn’t bring herself to. I let my nephews fight over the keychains and the switchblade comb.
The point is, it feels good to clear out your life when it’s filled with clutter. It makes you lighter, less tied down. Less stuff means more clean and more appreciation for the things you do use and enjoy often. Sell, donate, gift, trash, repeat.
Just think about it.
Now, I have a plane to Kentucky to catch.
Yes, that’s right, champagne.
It is a Virgo thing but in the best way <3
Hi Ricky, you made me smile! Thank you. Needed this today, as my Dad past 6 years ago on this date. I am such a hoarder, and wish I did not place so much sentimentality on items! Silly, but need to declutter! Have also been trying to jot down ideas for a story! Safe travels and take care.