For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money.
Arne Garborg, writer (1851-1924)
Campanula blossoms. They are still here, and still beautiful.
*******
On Friday, my younger daughter closed on her first home. She spent the weekend getting moved in, with a little help from some strong guys she hired and her brother. I did my part too, although as her mother, my advice is seldom taken and hardly tolerated. In her words, she is a 'minimalist' and ".....you have never met a blank space you liked or let stay blank for long." She is right about that, but I am trying my best to pare down and live more simply.
It's hard, though, when her moving back to NC near our home resulted in our house getting her old couch and a wooden box coffee table that I first gave her over ten years ago. She was going to have her couch recovered. We searched for fabric and got quotes for the re-upholstery, and it was a horrendous amount of money, plus she would be without a couch for almost a month. The couch doesn't really look like it needs recovering; she was just tired of the fabric and color. So she bought a new couch and chair and is 'storing' the old one here until she decides what she wants to do with it.
Even though we got two 'new' pieces of furniture, she took a chest of drawers from her old bedroom and wants an antique washstand of mine - so it's an even trade - so to speak. I told her Sunday that now that she has so many closets and storage spaces, I was going to pack up the contents of the closet in her old bedroom here and take it to her. She said..."I don't want any of that stuff." I could have screamed. For at least ten years, I have been trying to get her to go through that closet and toss out or donate most of what is in it. The contents include several old bridesmaid's dresses, shoes from middle and high school, school papers, souvenirs and a partial bolt of fabric leftover from when she had that couch covered before! There is a lot of other stuff too, like books and an old pinata. I think that when I clean out her closet, I'm going to do an inventory and post it here. Should be good for a laugh or two!
Do your children use your home as a storage unit?
Even though we got two 'new' pieces of furniture, she took a chest of drawers from her old bedroom and wants an antique washstand of mine - so it's an even trade - so to speak. I told her Sunday that now that she has so many closets and storage spaces, I was going to pack up the contents of the closet in her old bedroom here and take it to her. She said..."I don't want any of that stuff." I could have screamed. For at least ten years, I have been trying to get her to go through that closet and toss out or donate most of what is in it. The contents include several old bridesmaid's dresses, shoes from middle and high school, school papers, souvenirs and a partial bolt of fabric leftover from when she had that couch covered before! There is a lot of other stuff too, like books and an old pinata. I think that when I clean out her closet, I'm going to do an inventory and post it here. Should be good for a laugh or two!
Do your children use your home as a storage unit?
27 comments:
Yep...we have several boxes in the garage that belong to the Boy, but he truly has no place for any of it right now and it's stuff he collected as a kid. Everything else, if he couldn't take it, was tossed out. That was a perk of being a military family...you get used to ditching stuff with every move, so it's not as painful as it could be...
Too funny!!
My stepsons left a lot of their school things at our house in the country for a long time. When we moved from there, we took it w/us, then we kind of 'pared it down' after they took a look at it one day and took what it appeared they wanted and left the rest. I boxed the rest, then junked it when we moved here because it really didn't seem worth the hassle to move stuffed animals old girlfriends gave them,unlabeled rock/feather collections, fish tanks, clothes/shoes, term papers, etc.. Good luck!
I guess I have nothing -- not even money.
Nope my kids don't store stuff here.
Oh yes, though I think that now we have at last handed on all her stuff - or she has thrown it away! Though I still have a few little pottery animals!
Its a bit sad, though, when all you have left is your own old stuff! And we have plenty of that - a good clear out has been called for for a long, long time!!
'fun, but not pleasure;'
I'd settle for some fun:)
It was tricky at first when I moved into MTL's house with all the 'stuff' but once we had our own house all was fine and the kids took their belongings or binned then.
I like that Arne Garborg quote!
Slowly the 'Elly mountain' has decreased. I think we are down to one drawer full and one box in the loft. Maybe the drawer will be sorted and disposed of on her next visit.
Oh yes - I have taken from home to home - my childrens belongings.
When I moved to the city 3 years ago, finally they took everything.
But...the wedding dress. My youngest daughter has no place to hang it and mom does have several roomy closets. So I have the smallest home ever in the woods.
Been here 7 months and I have a wedding dress hanging in my upstairs closet.
I distinctly remember maneuvering a piece of furniture from the car to the house and my husband said "How come every time one of the kids move we end up with more stuff in our house ?" The girls also denied having stuff at my house from when they were teenagers. And I have little by little dropped stuff off at their houses. And yet I still have stuff.
I don't have a child but my sisters could write a book.
It is like parent" homes are no longer a place to live but is are great place for questionable "stuff" to live. Good luck. Sounds like a good time for a yard sale or a trip to Goodwill.
Honest to God, work verification is "unpilin"
It was only a year or so ago that the final box or 2 of my stuff was evicted from Mom's basement.
At least I THINK I have the final box. :)
You have to post the inventory list of that closet! Too funny!
My daughter is only six, so I guess I don't get to complain about the amount of stuff she has in closets at our house =)
I hung onto some of my kids' toys for the longest time--more that I was attached to them than they would ever want them someday. My son is the ultimate extreme minimalist. My poor daughter, after being the recipient of our cast off things, turned into a "get rid of it" person too.
One dog, four cats, clothes and memories. Please, please hang on to these until we get a big enough place. Soon they are moving into a place larger than mine and the clothes are out of style, the memories are of old boyfriends and can't go home with her, the dog doesn't know her anymore and who wants cats in a new home?
My children's stuff...the bane of my existence. Two daughters live in apts in NYC and can barely accomodate their beds, and the other moves often and hates to have a lot of furniture. BUT they don't want to get rid of anything! I'm going to get 'em: when I die, they will have to sort through it.
In the 50's people spent nothing on storage. Now it's a billion dollar industry. That says it all, doesn't it?
I seem to have struck a chord of recognition with this post! lol
I am planning to photograph my daughter's closet today and as soon as I clean it out and take inventory, I will post it for you. Maybe that knowledge will spur her to get rid of it forever!
I'm a minimalist too, so I don't know how I got so much clutter!
Beautiful quote to start with!
My step-daughters have used our garage as their storage spaces, but all have come and picked most of their stuff up and moved on. What ever was left was tossed. It probably makes a difference that they did not grow up in our home, so most of the stuff was boxes of college books.
My daughter left home for university over three years ago and now rents a room with friends in a large house. Her room at home is still full of her belongings.I am looking forward to the time she purchases her own home so that i can give everything to her. Will that day ever come........
Susan. England.
By all means, until we moved from a house in Texas to an apartment in Oregon. At that time they were forced to take all their stuff and do with it whatever they pleased.
Keep the books, ditch the bridesmaid dresses (unless the material is nice enough to make a few pillows out of)......or... another thought for the dresses... is there a little girl around that might love a few "dress up" dresses for a play box? I cut down several when Nyssa was little and made some from remnants and she and her friends played with them for years.... a great imagination builder.
Anyway, back to the list.... the shoes and pinata should go. This was one thing that was helped by our moving when she got out of high school... the getting rid of extraneous stuff.
You will love this.... my word verification for this comment is "sorts".
I think my mother would identify with that, and sympathise with you, and have her own stories of me to tell you :-)
LOL, LOL...Oh Judy, this is priceless. What a perfect post, in every way. I LOVE that your daughter accuses you of not wanting any empty anything in your house, saying she is a minimalist---AND them asks you to "store" those things at your house....lol, lol! Perfect!
And her closet...lol....More Perfection!
This is at least 2 Episodes of the new TV show, "PARENTHOOD"....
And I forgot to say..I hope you do list every item in your daughters closet! LOL! That will be fabulous...PLUS Pictures! ("Parenthood" episode 3.)
My parents had a 4000 sq ft house, so yes, it was storage central! LOL.
Oh, not surprised that post struck a cord. lol
You will be happy to know, I have never stored anything at my parents' home. Took it all with me when I left. However, I am like you, I never met a blank space that didn't need some color.
~S :)
This is all too familiar. My own daughters had to pare things down before they moved ou tbecause I sort of twisted their arm but my two step-daughters grew up in this house and they will not clean out their closets! It drives me bonkers but why create a problem about it, right? So I keep it where it is. Sigh.
Congrats to your daughter! How exciting to have a lot of extra storage space! At her house, not yours!
The Arne quote is so true. When I was 3, my father said to me,"I am one of the richest men in America and I cannot buy that which I need and want the most, time."
Post a Comment