M dragged yet another box out of the closet and plopped it tiredly upon the bed. “She kept so much crap!”
And she did. Photos, mementos, things she’d used in the past and put away.
She figured she might need them again someday.
But that day never arrived. Instead, she’s now buried beneath six feet of dirt. Now her son, overwhelmed with grief, has to process all of this and quickly.
He doesn’t even know where to start.
He flitted between spots. A box in the living room, boxes in the puzzle room, more in the bedroom. Mention the garage and he’ll wince.
For me, it serves as notice.
No one will want my stuff when I die. They might pick up a couple of little items, thing’s they’ve seen me use and love but the rest?
The rest will go to Goodwill if it doesn’t end up in the trash.
We think we’re doing those we leave behind a favor by keeping our stuff but the opposite is the case. Nobody wants our stuff when we die; they just want to get it out of the way so that they can begin the healing process.
So why keep it?
7 responses to “Nobody wants your stuff”
So very true…
Exactly! At most ask your children and loved ones if there is anything of potential interest they might want before you declutter. As you rightly put it more likely than not it will be a small everyday object that they saw you used be it a tea cup from the set one used to serve them or maybe one’s personal Bible if you left a significant spiritual legacy to them.
Exactly! This recent experience reminded me of when I had to sort my parents possessions. It’s overwhelming for those left behind to sort through the dross to locate the gold.
In this case, it’s mainly photographs and personal creations that are being sought and treasured. The remainder is a cause of stress.
Yes that is the worst when treasured photographs, important papers and valuable jewelry are mixed in with random vintage junk mail and boxed up doom piles. I’ve seen the nightmare first hand as years ago the mother of a woman I was dating passed away and she was a hoarder. She had literally filled up entire rooms, wall to wall, floor to ceiling with boxes that contained the most random assortments of mostly junk but just enough valuables and money mixed in that it was necessary to carefully sort through every single box.
Ouch! That sounds painful to go through
So glad you are writing again…but perhaps you never stopped?
The main reason i was drawn to your writing so many years ago…was because you have a brutally honest way of blurtng things out…
no holds barred…..take it or leave it.
Keep on keeping on.
Carla 🇨🇦
You pegged it, Carla. I’ve never really stopped. Been working on something for a long time. It’s not coming out right, not in a beneficial way.
I promised myself that I’d not publish unless I felt it might be beneficial to at least one person.
Maybe I’m getting closer. Who knows?