I'm tackling the other really difficult challenge in my pack/purge efforts ... going through the many many articles of family history that I have carried.
"Carried" is the operative word. It has become a burden to hold onto this - both physically (a significant part of 'real estate' in various closets and shelves contain these items) and emotionally (I am the family member unofficially designated - I should admit, self-designated - to 'hold' the family memories).
Family history has been an interest, even a passion, for me for years. My interest led me to compile a couple of books that will hold and share the information for myself and for others. The books contain charts of ancestors, and reproductions of key photos, stories, records like census reports, and other information that tell the story. I dedicated months to these books, and they are fascinating, and they are DONE, and I am done! Check that box, I'm ready to move on!
What's in the boxes and bins? Family photos, wedding invitations from 1880s, drawings and paintings of family members and vacations, teaching materials left over from my grandad the science professor, WWI maps and French postcards from my other grandad's service in WWI. College and high school annuals. Scrapbooks - several - filled with great little bits like dance cards, school play records, nametags from special events. Great stuff - but I'm drowning.
What else is around the house? Teacups. Sterling silver flatware. Haviland china. Stemware. Silver salt/pepper shakers. An old microscope - maybe 100 years old. Sterling silver platters, bowls, pitchers. Old china bowls (like the pink "mashed potato bowl" that my grandmother always used for mashed potatoes), porcelain platters. Decks of cards that my grandmother played bridge with constantly. A large cedar chest, a platform rocker, a glass-topped table. Art, lots of art. Again, great stuff, but I'm carrying all this and it is holding me back from moving easily to my next phase of my life.
My wise sister has long been in this place of not holding on to scads of things from earlier generations. So she's not eager to receive more than what she already has, and she speculates that the grandchildren (my daughter and nieces/nephew) won't be particularly interested in great amounts as well. So, I will make sure they have what they want, and then either sell, give away (to friends) or discard the rest.
As I pack it up, I am ambivalent. I'll keep tiny bits as representative of what I liked, and dispose of the rest. The stuff both fascinates me ... and repels me. Either way, it is time to move on. Move it out. Simplify. Lighten up. And be ready for the next phase of my life!
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