“Death Cleaning” and What I Found
Hello, Readers, although I have no premonition of imminent demise, I found this Swedish idea of “death cleaning” a remarkable solution to get rid of all those items that I thought someday a child or a grandchild might want, but they don’t.
What I am realizing is that the next generation just doesn’t want our stuff. That mahogany banquet table--yeah, right, it really fits in an NYC apartment! China? Good grief--we have enough china plates to serve 143 people--dear husband’s grandmother’s, one grandmother of mine, my mother’s, mine from my “starter” marriage, plus sets of four or five matching plates that seem to have sprung from nowhere. They are in the attic over the garage gathering dust! What the heck does anyone do with 143 plates? Actually, we keep 16 plates in our kitchen closet--eight every day and eight edged with forest green and gold for dinner in the dining room. Of course, the only one with a chip is the green and gold!
The premise of “death cleaning” is basically decluttering and saying goodbye to stuff--clothes, dishes, furniture, photos, knickknacks, etc. It is a good old-fashioned let’s get rid of this stuff! In 2017 a Swede named Margareta Magnusson wrote The Gentle Art of Death Cleaning. Get organized so no one else has to clean up after you are gone! What a grand idea.
So far, dear husband and I have set up in the garage a large table of “stuff” to take to Goodwill or some charitable shop. I have been through one (yes, just one) closet of clothes. We had our daughter help us go through 15 bags (grocery store size) of photos. Why did we ever have duplicates made? We literally have rid ourselves of a 30-gallon trash bag plus a clothes hamper of photos about whom/which NO ONE CARES! Some we had no idea who they were.
This past week, we decided to clean out the vinyl, 45 rpm records, tapes, and CDs. Behind one faded, covered-in-dust zippered case of tapes, we found a 6”x10” accordion file about 1½ inches thick. It was on the bottom shelf of a small closet below a set of bookshelves. Neither of us recognized it. It is off-white--essentially the color of the inside of the closet. We have lived in this house now for 20 plus years and neither of us admits to ever having seen it before!
The file is filled with ephemera from the past two-three generations on dear husband’s side of the family. The following is a photo gallery of some of the items in the file. I hope you enjoy it. It’s been a poignant journey through the past and fun as well.
The premise of “death cleaning” is basically decluttering and saying goodbye to stuff--clothes, dishes, furniture, photos, knickknacks, etc. It is a good old-fashioned let’s get rid of this stuff! In 2017 a Swede named Margareta Magnusson wrote The Gentle Art of Death Cleaning. Get organized so no one else has to clean up after you are gone! What a grand idea.
So far, dear husband and I have set up in the garage a large table of “stuff” to take to Goodwill or some charitable shop. I have been through one (yes, just one) closet of clothes. We had our daughter help us go through 15 bags (grocery store size) of photos. Why did we ever have duplicates made? We literally have rid ourselves of a 30-gallon trash bag plus a clothes hamper of photos about whom/which NO ONE CARES! Some we had no idea who they were.
This past week, we decided to clean out the vinyl, 45 rpm records, tapes, and CDs. Behind one faded, covered-in-dust zippered case of tapes, we found a 6”x10” accordion file about 1½ inches thick. It was on the bottom shelf of a small closet below a set of bookshelves. Neither of us recognized it. It is off-white--essentially the color of the inside of the closet. We have lived in this house now for 20 plus years and neither of us admits to ever having seen it before!
The file is filled with ephemera from the past two-three generations on dear husband’s side of the family. The following is a photo gallery of some of the items in the file. I hope you enjoy it. It’s been a poignant journey through the past and fun as well.
We have no knowledge of this padlock or what it went to or even when-–dear husband thinks it is his grandmother’s writing.
And this should come in handy – never!
Dear husband’s step-grandfather flew in 1915. Guessing that was brave!
Interesting mainly for date of 1924 and the one-cent cost. The back reads: “Dear Mother, I am having fun and thank you for the box you sent me. Your son, Ridge.” It is written in pencil and the 10-year-old likely had a supply of pre-addressed cards to send home.
Amazing prose for this 1927 wedding announcement . . . hard to read but I think “the bride looked radiant” would be edited out.
And why was this saved?
And our very favorite is from a letter to dear husband’s grandmother from her friend who was the travel agent. This agent made all the grandparents’ arrangements--even an around-the-world tour by ship. Seems the travel agent’s driver left her to become Cole Porter’s driver. No more details….
There are many more bits and pieces spread across the office table. Births, obituaries, photos (one with only the name Larry, 1937, on the back), cartoons, random newspaper clippings. We spent a whole evening reading and sorting. Okay, I am having a really hard time with “death cleaning” now. It makes me sad to see these thrown away. I must continue to think on this! I do like interesting “stuff.”
There are many more bits and pieces spread across the office table. Births, obituaries, photos (one with only the name Larry, 1937, on the back), cartoons, random newspaper clippings. We spent a whole evening reading and sorting. Okay, I am having a really hard time with “death cleaning” now. It makes me sad to see these thrown away. I must continue to think on this! I do like interesting “stuff.”
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