Letting Go of Things... But Keeping the Memories

So, I'm a rather avid watcher of the Style Network show, Clean House. This comes, I think, from a morbid fascination with hoarders. You know, those people who save things that most of us think are useless or worthless. Even the things that are useful are often more cheaply purchased again. So, now you're wondering what the intrigue is about hoarders. Well, I have to say Mimi is a bit of a hoarder. Not saves-bits-of-old-food-and-newspapers hoarding, more like saves-furniture-that-is-unneeded-and-every-book-ever-purchased.

So, at times, Mimi's House has had a Clean House "before" feel to it. Not always, but occasionally. So, these shows are a bit inspirational. One of the very interesting things that comes out in every episode is that often people are saving things that they admit they never use and WILL never use, but they have an "emotional" attachment to them. Last night was the episode of woman whose daughter called in Clean House. Her place was frightening in the level of disorganization and clutter. But more striking was the fact that everything her husband held dear was still in the house... 10 years after his death. Like most of the families, she felt like getting rid of the things, the physical manifestations of his life was getting rid of HIM and her memories of him.

I've been facing my own, getting-rid-of-memories dilemma lately. When we moved, we brought all of the Bean clothes with us. Yep, we brought baby clothes with us. We weren't sure what needs we might have and maybe 3ammoBean. I've been really hesitant to get rid of ANY of the clothes. I had large bins full of baby clothes that I don't really need. But, I told myself, if we had another baby we couldn't buy high-quality clothes like these. Sorry Jordan, but your things fall short when it comes to value for money. Nice things cost a premium and there's no Carter's outlet here. So, I've been hoarding baby clothes.

Well, the Egyptian guard at our church just had a baby girl, 8 years after his youngest of two boys. As they live in a one-room home, I guessed they likely had stored very little and definitely can afford very little. So, last night, I went through the baby Bean clothes to see what we have. As I opened that box, I was a bit teary-eyed remembering how cute each of the outfits looked first on ButterBean and then on JujuBean. Each item clothing has a fond memory of one, or both, of my Beanie babies. But, I had to embrace the wisdom that Clean House is so good at imparting - getting rid of the stuff doesn't mean getting rid of the memories.

So today at the Bean household, we're fully intact with memories, but significantly lighter on stuff. And, while I felt a twinge (yeah a really big one) while letting go, once the band-aid was ripped off, it felt immeasurably better...

Happy memories!