Beyond Clutter

Beyond Clutter

Mementos cluttered and clustered on shelves, counters, on dressers, in bookshelves, piled on the floor. Some people called Hortense a hoarder and she thought she might agree with them sometimes. Dusting them all was a chore that she didn’t mind. She knew that if she went to one of the shrinks, she'd get some kind of diagnosis. Her family would do one of those intervention things she’d seen on TV. What none of them knew was that there was one space in her house that was her own special place. Neat as a pin. Just a little room with a big window looking out on her back yard. Not a single memento was allowed. Except for pictures of her family and her first love. Even they were neatly placed in photo albums. She would go in there in the mornings with her tea, sit in her rocking chair and page through all the weddings, births and birthdays, graduations, and reunions. Some random pictures were gatherings at funerals with school chums or relatives she hadn’t seen for years. Her collection of albums was on one shelf that she had her grandson put up for her. Each one was beautifully bound in padded leather. 

There did come a day, when Hortense began to clear out all the mementos in her little home. There were knick knacks and linens, clothes that were still good but hadn’t fit for years. Clearing her drawers, dressers and closets began. Each time she saw a one or two knick knacks in a photo, she would get up, say goodbye to it and put it gently in a box she kept in her closet. When it was full she’d send it off to one of the thrift stores. 

“Good heavens! I’m packing away my life!” Hortense stood in the middle of her living room surveying a room she hadn’t seen properly for years. “You know, this room needs painting. And a new carpet. And new curtains.” Shaking the dust from the curtains, she studied them. “Let’s see. What colour?” Grabbing her purse, and her keys she headed for the door. “Oh, I’d better put a coat on. It’s still winter. Now where is that paint store I see all the time. Or maybe the hardware store - they have paint. I have to look for carpet stores later. And a fabric store to see who makes drapes. I want the painting done first.” Hortense backed her car out of the garage. “Guess it’s time to clear out the garage too. That will have to wait until spring.” 

“The space in which we live should be for the person 

we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.”

~ Marie Kondō