By Lorry Myers
I called before I left and told her I had my work clothes on and would bring boxes and bags that would help us organize and sort.
I wasn’t looking forward to this.
The year my father died became a year of adjustment. The house my parents shared for twenty years had become overwhelming. We looked at other housing alternatives and then let Mom lead the family discussion.
She was ready for a change.
First, we needed to start cleaning and clearing the years of life that filled every corner of my parent’s house. It was time to revisit curio cabinets, China cabinets and living room cabinets lined with books. Old photos and new photos with no room for more photos. Closets full of table linens, hatboxes, and old Christmas sweaters. There were trinkets and treasures that were given and then forgotten.
Time to sort it out.
To get the process started we decided to divide everything into three piles. The keep pile would be for things that were not going anywhere. They might be put in storage or put on display…didn’t matter. Everything in the keep pile was there for a reason.
The sell pile was for items that would go to the church garage sale. This pile was for generic things my mother cared nothing about and didn’t think any of her family would either.
Then, there was the throw away pile for anything that was broken, out-of-date, or useless.
Let’s get to it.
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard.
