Spring Cleaning?

My latest inspiration is now appearing in front of me on TV with the Ellen Show. She was saying that since 1952 her mama has moved 31 times. That is a lot but 57 years is awhile too. Anyway, she was amazed at the things her mama has kept and allowed the movers to move into her newest home this past week. Ellen brought the items to the show and as the first of them was a 3 hole punch just like the one I have on the shelf in my office, I felt defensive enough to start this blog! (By the way, Ellen's mom told her how much junk she had gotten rid of for this move, so with all the moves and downsizing every time, Ellen thought her mama probably had a couple of boxes to unpack so she went to help her.) Unwrapping layers of paper that the movers had used.

1.three hole puncher ( I have 1 or 2 of these! My justification is that I was a school teacher! But I remember before I taught, I was envious of 3-hole punch owners!)

2.single hole puncher (I am sure if I looked, there is at least 1 in the office, 1 in the kitchen junk drawer, 1 in the garage and perhaps 1 in the bedroom--don't ask!)

3. Abs of Steel on VHS and Hip Hop Abs on DVD(still unopened) for mamas 6-pack (I do not have these particular works, but I have my share of VHS and DVD's. I mean, who doesn't love to keep some old eight-tracks or cassette tapes around? I had more than one of Richard Simmon's 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' on VHS that I loved! Whatever happened to those?

4. hand exerciser (Need I say more?---Oh but I do have some of these: I keep them under my bed & occasionally when I vacuum I knock one out and then I stub my toe on it in the middle of the night.)

5. plastic harmonica (This is not mine, it is Frank's!)

6. 2nd plastic harmonica (And he has 2 Duncan Yo-Yo's in that same drawer!)

7. old rusty steel harmonica (As Ellen said, "Stumbling along the railroad tracks one day, taking a drag from the 40 I had in a brown paper bag, I came upon a real harmonica!)

8. metal flour sifter from 1953--mama does not cook (I used to have one, but I lost it, so now I cannot sift my flour.)

9. metal biscuit cutters from '53 also (These were too fancy. I never owned my very own biscuit cutters, however I did have a Tupperware hamburger- shaper that made perfectly round and flat hamburger patties that I could pre-make and freeze!)

10. metal colander that looks old and dented (I have nothing to say about this other than I did get an image of myself as a child with one of these on my head as a helmet?--flashback or hallucination?)

11. 5 pretzels in a bag (Ellen stopped by her Mama's house to pick these up but Mama had eaten them! You never want to waste perfectly good pretzels!)

This really made me laugh to see all these great items that Mama had moved with her over the 57 years and 31 moves. Sometimes she packed and moved herself and other times she had movers packing and moving her. As you can see by my comments on each item, these are probably essential paraphernalia for many people such as myself.

It did amaze me to see how much wrapping paper the movers use the first time I got to use professionals to move and what they will wrap and pack! If it is in the house and not tied down, they will grab it and pack it! So, I have learned to specify if a piece of trim board needs to be left and put back on a kitchen cabinet or that the broiling pan stays with the oven, the drawers stay in the refrigerator, the unused portion still on the roll of toilet paper can stay on the roller (not to mention the bowl cleaner brush and plunger wrapped in 5 sheets of white movers wrapping paper, the flower pot with just dirt in it does not need to be wrapped in 7 layers of paper and then packed into a box labeled "miscellaneous", old buckets and old rugs and rags that were to be used when doing a final house cleaning at the old house do not need to be wrapped and packed either, nor does the whole kitchen cabinet that contains throw away plastic containers or plastic grocery bags you had saved need to be wrapped in layers of paper and placed into a box with your kitchen things...I didn't understand the mover's theory: the more boxes, the more money, the more paper around small items, the fewer things go into each box.

Now as far as defense for KEEPING those items such as old plastic margarine containers and their mismatched lids, plastic grocery bags, all my old shoe boxes, other empty boxes, clothes that neither my husband nor I have worn in at least 5 years, shoes & boots we never wear, coats and jackets that are never worn, blankets and bed clothes for twin &/or full size beds when we have NEVER had one of either in the 5 years we have been married, old telephones (both home & cell) we have not used in years, enough cable from cable TV to wire a complete Indian village, enough speaker wire and telephone wire to take care of that same village,(although in reality the villagers are probably all using wireless phone cells!--like the story of an expedition in India where a group were taking a day trip through the jungle on elephants. When the lead elephant stopped and refused to go, everyone in the party panicked and asked their guides what could they do, "Nothing," he replied, "When the elephant stops and refuses to go, then there is nothing you can do." Then he promptly reached inside his turban, pulled out a cell phone and called for a truck to come get them!)

You may ask what would possess people to hoard such things. There are many reasons. Like my collection of little ceramic lighthouses that my son in law PDaddy asked about when he was packing & helping us move. I explained, "PDaddy, those are nicknack's. And I am just a nicknack- kind of person!" I will not tell him that because we live in a smaller home here in CA the lighthouses are still packed in that box in our attic. And when my daughter MaLouise asks, "Mom, why do you keep this stuff? I cannot respond with, "To pass on as a family heirloom to you, MaLouise." because she obviously does not want it! I mean there may be several treasures packed in that attic that she could take to Antiques Road Show one day and hear them say, "That item is worth...1.2???" You can thank me later, MaLouise!