Purging

I might be a borderline hoarder.  I keep things, save them, with the intention of possibly needing it someday or wanting to pick it up and reflect on a memory. Is that hoarding?  'The Hubs' thinks so.  As does my mom.  I started tucking all of my crap, for lack of a better word, into the garage when we started fixing up the nursery.  It quickly became a time capsule, holding memories of my college days and my former life (the one where I was single and didn't think I'd ever have to pay off my Macy's card).

The garage was a pit and it had gotten hard to find things that we actually wanted to use.  Some of you saw my garage in its time capsule state.  I'm sorry.  It had gotten so bad that I knew it had gotten bad.  So, I decided to let go and have a yard sale.  It was bittersweet.  I got my garage back but I said farewell to a lot of my stuff. 

 Farewell, old college textbooks.  Farewell, teal Chinese Laundry sweater that I just had to have.  Farewell, little baby boy ducky pajamas.  Farewell, over-the-door ironing board from our first apartment.

Farewell, speakers that 'The Boy' though were microphones.  Not really.  Nobody bought them and 'The Hubs' wasn't letting them go.  How is that fair?

We sold a bunch of stuff but still had half of a garage full left over.  My heart swelled while I packed my memories up and started to put them back in my time capsule.  Then our neighbors told 'The Hubs' to pack it up, leave it on the curb, and post a 'free' add on Craigslist.  My heart sunk but I did what I had to do.  I packed up old clubbing clothes, candles I bought at the Redlands Farmer's Market and my textbooks that I'll never open again.  I hesitated with the click of the mouse when I posted the add.  But, I did it.  And in 45 minutes, it was all gone. 

I watched from a window upstairs as my memories got tossed into an old minivan.  I so wanted to go outside and stop it all from happening but, I knew I needed to make room for new memories.  My garage is clean now and I feel a little more free.  It's just stuff...I can't take it with me.  But the memories (and there are some good ones), I'll have those forever.