I Mean...Who Doesn't Love Model Trains?

Another day, another basement treasure. This time, I knew what was in this particular crate.

My dad's trains.

Of course, not everything he once owned were in the box. I remember a huge (it was huge to me...) custom-built wooden display complete with tunnels and buildings. It consisted of two equal sections, at least six feet by four feet each. It sat in our basement, never used, because the man who owned the display died.

I still wonder what happened to that thing. There are times when I think it would be cool to have it, but you'd have to dedicate an entire room just for the display and the trains for which it was built.

But, there is one crate that contains the model trains that my dad loved, one crate that stayed in my parent's basement until my mom passed away and we moved the crate to our basement where it's resided for the past twelve years.

Like the display, I always thought it would be fun to one day set up the train set, see if it still works. It would be a way of honoring my dad, enjoying the things he enjoyed. The set is old and if it works after all these decades would be a miracle. Then again, it most likely worked when it was boxed and put away, so why not now?

There's another option for the old set and the cars. I can sell them or donate them to a thrift store to bring joy to someone else--maybe even for generations to come. Now that the basement is getting de-cluttered, there's room for me to unpack the crate, set up a portion of the track and see if we can get the thing to work. I think my dad would approve.

Yes...We Gave Away Books

There's something almost sacred about a book, and not just religious books--any book. Until recently, books were the best way to store knowledge, everything that's known to humanity (many think it's still the best way...). When mankind took that giant leap from recording history on rocks and cave walls and began writing on paper, skins, scrolls, and finally, books, it changed the world.

Because books were so valuable, people have been collecting them for centuries. Once a true test of a person's wealth was the size of his/her library. 

So why did we load up a couple of hundred books into our minivan and give them away?

It all comes down to space.

Last week I posted (and blogged about...) some de-cluttering activities we've begun at our house. There's an organizing revival that's sweeping the nation and her name is Marie Kondo. She leads a new-age religion of which she's the pope. Books have their own category in her book of scripture. And for good reason. Many of the people she helps have a lot of books...

A lot of books.

Because of space issues, we went though and removed several hundred books from our home. Many were duplicates (you know you have a lot of books when you didn't realize when buying a book that you already had the same book at home...) and most were bought from the same place--our local thrift store--that we donated them to. 

Couple of thoughts. I do feel bad that we couldn't keep the books. If I had my way, we'd have a room, about the size of my house, just for books. I know I'd never be able to read all of them, but they would be--because they are now--a treasure. And two, we are donating these books so others can have them. Others can buy the picture and children's books so their kids can learn and read and love the books they way we have. So, even though we won't have them, some other people can and it will make them richer. That's a good thing.

A Marie Kondo De-Clutter Storm Has Hit Our House...

Both my wife and I saw the same meme when we opened Facebook tonight--the same meme posted by different people. A week ago, I'd never heard of Marie Kondo.

Now, she's everywhere.

That's how trends go.

And, as trends go, becoming a disciple of the Marie Kondo method is not a bad thing.

If you've been living under a rock you may not know who Marie Kondo is or what she does. I don't know much about her--I haven't read her book--but I do know she has a show on Netflix. What she does is help people de-clutter not only their living spaces, but their lives.

My wife has watched several episodes of Marie's show and yesterday, she began her de-cluttering adventure. She followed the plan and organized her side of the closet (notice I'm not showing pictures of my side of the closet...). She hit a home run. 

Of course, it's only the beginning. There's mountains of books, papers, and other things against which my wife will go to war--all the time finding joy in the process. It' something I should learn and do, as well. Then, I'll be converted to a Marie Kondo disciple, too.

That's not a bad thing.

Getting Rid Of Stuff...And Why We Have It In The First Place

Last weekend we did a little de-cluttering at our house. We live in an area where there's an incredibly organized and efficient thrift store system. It's run by the LDS Church and there's major stores and donation centers across the state.

Personal note--shopping at these stores, called D.I. (short for Deseret Industries...), is one of my favorite things to do. I could hang out for hours just looking at stuff. I could, and when I had more time, I did. It's amazing to see things that have a history. They were not only produced, but most have spent time in people's homes. These items were bought as gifts, as necessary products, and as impulse buys.

We were re-organizing the boy's upstairs bedroom. When you re-organize, if some things come in, other things have got to go so we loaded up the van and headed to the donation center.

Apparently, we were not the only ones with the same idea.

We usually go on weekdays, not weekends. It's too busy. This time it couldn't be helped. We turned on to the road and realized we'd be waiting a bit--there was a back up just to get into the parking lot. Once we were off the street, I snapped a quick picture showing the line still waiting to get off the road. I posted the picture on social media and it got a lot of responses.

There was one that made me think.

A friend from Denmark wrote, "Hmmmm wonder if people should buy less stuff to begin with...less stuff, less to give/throw away..."

It's a fair point. We live in a land of opportunity and that means, many times, the opportunity to amass a ton of stuff. We're guilty of it. We have a storage room full of some important things, but also things we don't necessarily need. I remember growing up in a larger home that was full of a lot more stuff. Both my parents lived through the Great Depression and they saved. They saved recipes, they saved nails and screws and clothes and tools, and anything that they thought might be needed in the future. I think part of my "collecting" tendencies stem from my parents.

One room down. Hopefully, we'll keep going. And if we do, I'm sure we'll join dozens of others waiting to give stuff away.