Blaise Tapp: Rekindling old memories made parting company much easier
In recent months I have spent more time filling black bags than at any point in my life, prompting me to question whether we really do need all the things we accumulate over the years?
Everybody has stuff but the challenge is to determine what is the stuff we really couldn’t live without - what would we quickly gather before rushing out of a burning building?
I’ve been asking myself that very question as we finally tackle clearing out my late mum’s home, something that I’ve been more than happy to put off for more than a year. Emptying the family home isn’t something anyone really relishes but I’ve found it incredibly cathartic, even though I am now on nodding terms with the workers at the local tip.
Deciding what to keep and what to either give or throw away has been a steep learning curve as I really can’t justify to Mrs Tapp why I think we need even more mugs or wine glasses. Giving away treasured items such a handmade wooden rocking chair was tough but, really, what were we going to do with a tiny piece of furniture that was designed for a toddler?
As hard as it was to start with, I have gotten much better at parting company with things that carry so much meaning but rediscovering them and rekindling old memories has actually been more than enough.
As someone who has seen more than his fair share of the inside of charity shops, I also take a great deal of comfort in knowing that clothes, furniture and ornaments will get a new lease of life with their new owners, although there is always that nagging concern that I might see one of our discarded figurines or plates on the Antiques Roadshow in 10 years’ time. But, if I worried about inadvertently giving away a small fortune, I’d end up smuggling every nick nack back home into our already bulging shed. That really wouldn’t go down well at all.
The process of clearing out my mum’s home has made me focus on whether what I have stuffed into my own cupboards and drawers without looking at most of it for at least a decade really is must have after all.
Now that I have figured out how to be more clinical, some might say ruthless, when it comes to saying goodbye to possessions, I reckon that I won’t have so much of a problem now when it comes to clearing out that shed.