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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Storage and "Stuff"


Today, The One-Minute Writer asked, "What would you like to put into storage?" I was instantly reminded of George Carlin's routine about his "Stuff".




Asking a pack rat like me to name what I would want to put into storage is a little like Pandora's Box in reverse. There are so many things that I would like to eliminate, but putting them into storage would imply that I might want them again later. Many things that I would want to eliminate are so private and personal that this isn't the forum. Personality issues like anger or insecurity might be a burden to bear, but to put them into storage would be denying part of ourselves. Personally, I just try to cope with those and put them on the back burner to keep them tamed.

To name the physical "stuff" I would want to put into storage would create a long list. As a habitual pack rat, I find it hard to put things into storage. It makes me think of those storage rental companies with storage units where I would have to drive over to look at my "stuff." I don't hoard, but when I keep something, I feel I have a good reason. If I want to retrieve something again later, I keep it close and I don't think of it as storage. I could open a store and call it R.J.'s Attic, Basement and Garage if I wanted to cash in on all the "stuff" I keep around my house. However, I doubt that anyone would want any of my "stuff" so I haven't tried to auction any of it on eBay. I keep my "stuff" because it has meaning to me.

For example, I used to sew, but I stopped. I used to make dresses, vests, and apparel that would cease to be in style, so those clothes went into a back closet. I couldn't bear to throw them away or give them away, because I had spent a lot of time and effort making them exactly as I wanted, which made me emotionally attached to my clothes. Since I don't have unlimited space to store clothes, I stopped making my clothes.

Digital storage is most important to me. I love photos and collect endlessly so data storage of photos would appeal most to me. Since I began using digital cameras, the convenience of loading photos to a computer has astounded me. It makes me want to gather all of my slides and negatives from the past to store them in a digital format also. It would be a daunting task time-wise but it is a long term goal of mine.


3 comments:

  1. I have my entire home (life?) in storage as we live in what used to be our vacation home. It is so strange, because it's going on two years, and I really miss that stuff! Every day we come up with something we wish we had. Where we are living now feels like home, and we are surrounded with plenty of stuff - well too much stuff as we will eventually sell this place furnished, right down to the bedding and dishes - but it's the things that took a lifetime to accumulate that I miss. I could really relate to this post.

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  2. It must have been hard to store all of your memories. I know I have to downsize someday but it will be hard and a little sad. The stories of my "stuff" make up my life so it becomes a little like removing all of my memories. It seems that everything I keep has a story. Maybe I should do this in stages to decrease the shock to my system. I've sworn off collecting things that I might get attached to. I collect my memories in the form of photos and those are so much easier to store with computers. It's good to hear from you and good luck.

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  3. thank you, thank you, thank you.


    xxx

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