Hoarding

We have been cleaning out the basement.  So much junk.  So many memories.  I am learning to treasure the memories and let go of the junk.  Watching a few episodes of Hoarders made it clear to me that I really wanted to let a lot of old stuff go.  I am not a hoarder.  Yet.  But my grandmother was.  And my father had his own form of hoarding - mostly paper in his case.  He kept every note, every email.  What a process it was to clear out the stuff when they passed away.  I don't want the people who love me to have to do the same (not that I have any plans to die any time soon!).

The kids and I made piles.  One pile was stuff to go to the transfer station (dump), one pile was to give away to friends, and one pile was to put away.  We were able to clean out half of the basement.  Now the kids ride their scooters and bikes down there.  This will be especially helpful this winter when it is too cold and wet to play outside.

Some things I found in the basement peaked the kids' interest.  This old typewriter was one of those things.  It doesn't really work anymore.  Some of the keys get stuck, so you can type, just not fast enough to make it worth it.

I was surprised at how it all came back to me.  How you roll the paper through, and then open the carriage, and line it up so that the paper will be straight.  And how you hit return at the end of the line.  I wrote my high school and college papers on this typewriter.  It was mine.

The kids all took turns typing on it.  It didn't work very well because they ink on the ribbon was dry after 20 plus years of not being used.  The kids got a real kick out of hearing about how we used to type things, because there weren't computers.

What old items do you have lying around?  What would your kids find fascinating?  Take them out, play with them for a while, and then send them to the trash.

Wish you were here!