It’s time to go, family memorabilia, 223/365

 I can do this. I can get rid of something at least every other day.   

    Today I put family memorabilia in a box, labeled it, and took it to the barn. I understand that it is hard to discard the champagne glasses that we raised to celebrate Jim’s parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, or the glasses celebrating the 1989 alumnae-guest golf tournament at Williams These are things Jim isn’t ready to get rid of, but for my purposes, I out of sight, out of mind. Good enough for me.

Day 172/365 Its time to go, stuff on the street

As you can see, I haven’t written on this blog for a looooong time. But please, that doesn’t mean that we haven’t let go of stuff. As I wrote in cottagebythesea.net blog, it’s not that we’ve lost the desire, but we’re probably not as intentional as we were—and I got tired of writing it up.

     I’m not ready to let go of the blog, so here’s the cottage post. I’ll see what I can do, but not on a daily basis. 

Two years ago I started a blog IT’S TIME TO GO; LETTING GO OF STUFF  http://lettingofstuff.blogspot.com/. My husband and I had the intention of getting rid of one thing every day for an entire year. We did quite well, but then our commitment faded and I got tired of blogging about it. The desire is still there; I just wish I had a clone who was interested in doing all the work.

    On my walk the other day I was reminded that I am not alone in the challenge to let go of stuff. Along the side of the road, waiting for trash removal, was a plastic box, with “Mike, Photo Albums, Keep,” written on its side. Where are the photos? Did Mike toss them? Did his mother toss them? Have they been sorted and distributed? Have they been scanned?

     All these questions indicate just how difficult it is to let go of stuff. When we see treasures piled by the side of the road, we can be pretty sure a complex decision making process landed them there.

Day 171/365 It’s time to go, junked-up parlor

     Sorry for the hiatus but we’ve been organizing more than getting rid of stuff. The old parlor has been transformed into The Reading Room. My part was to clear the shelves and let go of some of the books. My husband did the rest, and without accumulating new stuff I might add. Instead. he rearranged furniture, hung up pictures, vacuumed, and added a few choice interior decorator touches.

    Here’s what he sent out to family.

The front  room at 16 Concord Road has been thoroughly cleaned out and remodeled. In a brief dedication ceremony  Camp Fisher managers decreed that it is now and forever more known as The Reading Room.

The Room been completely refurbished with period antique furniture, including the old Eberman kitchen table and Stevens family writing desk, plus unique select items from the Sudbury put and take.

 Now warm and inviting, The Reading Room invites Camp Fisher guests to come and stay awhile, drop their cares and enjoy a good book, write a letter, practice on a musical instrument, or create  pictures and  sculptures.

The Reading Room easily converts into a guest bedroom when necessary, and is expected to be in great demand over the holidays.

Day 165/365 It’s time to go, books in the parlor

I’m back. Back from vacation in Italy and back to letting go of things. This month it is all the stuff in our front room, which we euphemistically call the parlor. This catch-all room is filled with books from my teaching days, and even books from college days. Over the years it’s accumulated the family archives, my father’s and most recently my mother’s. My mom died two years ago at age 101 so you can imagine the long lifetime of papers and files to go through. And then there is my husband’s framing hobby, which continues to be bolstered by his weekly trips to the put-and-take.

     I’m starting, shelf by shelf. One a day. Today it was organizing jigsaw puzzles and sorting children’s books into piles: for the put-and-take, the church fair, gifts, and to keep. 

                                             After

Before