"Howard, you don't have to pack everything as if it's the Hope diamond!" I heard myself say impatiently to my husband. We were at our "hobby," as it has almost become, emptying our house and putting things into storage. We had been working piecemeal for weeks, and the task seemed interminable. My husband was packing like a professional packer, even for a transfer of a couple of miles, wrapping and taping securely every stray garage sale cup or saucer. My method wasn't much better, though, striving to balance a heavier box with lightweight objects, which sent me looking through other rooms for just the right item. Never mind that I left the tape or marker somewhere else.
Last night we were watching my favorite channel, HGTV, and "The Selling of Spelling Manor" came on. I could sympathize with the daunting task Mrs. Spelling was facing as she had to pack up probably the biggest home in the United States. Of course, she only supervised the packing, and she was very organized, but I could identify with her stress level. Faced with so much, she decided to store everything and sort it out later. That seems to be what I'm doing. (At least, though, she took time to label everything with post-it notes indicating storage, donate, etc.) She ended up with over 500 boxes to store; I think I must have packed 50 by now!
Why do we accumulate so much? As I was boxing things up, I thought, I don't really want this, but I don't want to have a garage sale, either! It seems our possessions end up owning us! What was so desirable to have or collect becomes just a burden or a liability! No wonder the Bible says so much about storing up for oneself treasures on earth!
Of course we have to have material things to raise our families and make life livable. And we have certainly always lived modestly. But I do tend to hang on to sentimental items and family memorabilia and have an eye for collectibles and pretty things! I don't throw things away, because as sure as I dispose of something, I find myself needing or wanting it! My son scolds me for saving leftovers. "Mom, this is America! Throw it out!" he says as I put a miniscule portion of vegetables into a container. (It's true, the food languishes and takes up space and nobody eats it, but I have saved it "just in case.")
Hopefully, we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in our "moving". When Spring comes, I'm sure I'll have a new perspective and will be wanting to retrieve my things from storage and use them again in a new location. (Even Mrs. Spelling, who had to move into a temporary condo, was soon up to her old habits--learned while building their mansion--picking out countertops, flooring, etc. to go in her new digs where she would probably start the process of accumulating all over again!)
Right now, though, I'm too tired to think about it and have to renew my energies before I can face another roll of packing tape!
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