Cleaning Out The Memories...

In my career I've changed jobs several times and except for one occasion, I had to move to a different cubicle with each change. Many times I had to move to a new building. Usually I've liked the changes--I get to meet new people, see new scenery going to and from work. Overall, changing desks and buildings has been positive.

But, there's always a drawback or two.

For me, that means each move's produced a box of stuff sitting in our basement.

We've been decluttering our house of late, and by "we" I mean my wife, and by "decluttering" I mean throwing stuff away. We should have been doing this for years, but we didn't. We let things pile up until the basement shelves get weighed down and walkways get thinner and thinner.

This week, my wife took on that basement and I came face-to-face with my past, in the form of box after box of stuff from work. Each time I moved desks or buildings, I brought home another box. It's the way of things.

Digging in boxes of old stuff isn't all bad. Sure, you've got to now make a choice of keeping things you haven't seen for years and possibly decades, but hey...it's also fun when the memories come flooding in. I found milestone certificates--five year/ten year acknowledgements. I found nameplates and toys that once sat on and around my desks. I found posters I once hung on the flimsy cubicle walls. I found pictures of the way my family used to look.

I'm sure, if I studied psychology, I could explain the need and desire (even, perhaps, obsession...) of saving stuff. There must be papers and books written about the subject because we all do it, or most of us do. It is, after all, only stuff. I saved ticket stubs from Utah Jazz games I attended years ago. The games were great (especially since they were floor seats...), but why keep them, and if so, for how long? It's the eternal question.

And that's only two things out of hundreds.

I got rid of many things in the boxes and I have a few more to go through. When it's all said and done, the room will be leaner, the shelves will be lighter, and the walkways wider. This last work move may indeed be my last--I don't know. Time will tell, I guess. I do know that if I ever do move to a new desk/office, I'll probably leave another box of stuff behind.

It is, after all, the way of things.