I’ve been working through a funk during which nothing seems to sparkle. I have felt dull and bored, maybe worse than bored…boring. Yet during this time, one thing that always stirs me inside are YouTube videos of estate clean-outs, maybe the discovery of abandoned houses - it’s for the reasons you reference here. The items which never had a chance to be sorted and tidied hold the energy of secret stories hiding in plain sight. They thrill me with the electricity of curiosity; they tap me back into childhood zeal when every discovery prompted another question.
Having a treasure trove of inspiration as a wedge against boredom, how grand! I love that. I feel it intersecting with this concept of Swedish death cleaning - tidying up so nobody will have to be bothered (or scandalized by) the things we kept so long. What is lost when we let things go? Where do the untold stories end up?
Wonderful questions! These are the same I'm asking myself as I drill down my mother's belongings. It feels intrusive and so hard to make the "final" decision on a thing that carry so much history. Meanwhile, I'm asking of my own belongings: who will care about you when I'm gone? Should I make the final decision about you, so no one else has to?
Yes, I find it hard to let go of items associated w/ memories, but I can and have done it. In the end, it's a freeing experience. At least it was for me.
Yes, it truly is. I'm working in concentric circles, unloading the easiest first. 8th grade Spanish notebook with doodles on the cover - I can probably let that go now. Hah.
I wonder where your friends keep their mementos or if their lives truly are so bland that they indeed live in a Pottery Barn photoshoot set. It sounds creepy. Not even a family picture somewhere? 🫣
Oh, and I am hoarding old things, parts of my tiny apartment look like a museum 🤣
I’ve been working through a funk during which nothing seems to sparkle. I have felt dull and bored, maybe worse than bored…boring. Yet during this time, one thing that always stirs me inside are YouTube videos of estate clean-outs, maybe the discovery of abandoned houses - it’s for the reasons you reference here. The items which never had a chance to be sorted and tidied hold the energy of secret stories hiding in plain sight. They thrill me with the electricity of curiosity; they tap me back into childhood zeal when every discovery prompted another question.
That sounds like a treasure trove of inspiration! Essays, stories... Have you considered exploring your response to these observations?
Having a treasure trove of inspiration as a wedge against boredom, how grand! I love that. I feel it intersecting with this concept of Swedish death cleaning - tidying up so nobody will have to be bothered (or scandalized by) the things we kept so long. What is lost when we let things go? Where do the untold stories end up?
Wonderful questions! These are the same I'm asking myself as I drill down my mother's belongings. It feels intrusive and so hard to make the "final" decision on a thing that carry so much history. Meanwhile, I'm asking of my own belongings: who will care about you when I'm gone? Should I make the final decision about you, so no one else has to?
Yes, I find it hard to let go of items associated w/ memories, but I can and have done it. In the end, it's a freeing experience. At least it was for me.
Yes, it truly is. I'm working in concentric circles, unloading the easiest first. 8th grade Spanish notebook with doodles on the cover - I can probably let that go now. Hah.
I wonder where your friends keep their mementos or if their lives truly are so bland that they indeed live in a Pottery Barn photoshoot set. It sounds creepy. Not even a family picture somewhere? 🫣
Oh, and I am hoarding old things, parts of my tiny apartment look like a museum 🤣
What's strange is, I got to know them better and they were definitely interesting people. Never figured it out.
I use the, "but I'm an arteest!" excuse for all my piles of stuff :)