Accumulations

 Have you ever just looked around and thought to yourself that you need to tidy up? Laundered clothes that need to be put away or old papers that should be tossed into the recycling, it's so easy to just leave them where they are, to be dealt with at a later time. I will openly admit it, that I am not an especially tidy person, often holding onto things that I think might be of use later on, or keeping something because I am not sure how/where to dispose of it.

On Tuesday I helped my Dad move some things around in the furnace room of our basement. We recently had some work done, with a ventilation/extraction system being installed to remove radon that accumulates underneath the house. This required moving some stray objects around to make room for the new system. Inspired by the relocation of the random debris, Dad was working on cleaning the furnace room up, at least a little. Move things around, things that likely haven't been moved in years, in order to sweep up the dirt and dust that had collected.

The furnace room is the junk drawer of our house. We use it for long term/indefinite storage. Things get put down there, and then forgotten. A cardboard box filled with plastic bags, a bin filled with pieces of wood (various sizes), a metal shelving unit (unstable). Out of sight, out of mind.

This comes on the heels of plans for an estate sale to be held in a few months. With both my grandparents having passed away, their possessions unclaimed by relatives will soon be sold off, with house and land to be sold later. It gives me an uneasy feeling deep within, the thought of boxing up and selling off pieces of someone's life. I recognize the necessity of it, though it still does not sit well; the age-old war of the logical vs. the emotional rages on within me.

I will admit to acquiring things second-hand: clothes, books, the chair I am sitting in as I write these words. And yet, I rarely think about those who came before me. Who wore these clothes? Who read these books? Who sat in this chair?

I don't know.

It also occurs to me that soon enough (and perhaps too soon), I will be the one who has moved on. Relatives will go through my personal affects, taking what interests them, selling and donating what does not. Will others people handle what used to be mine, and wonder about who used to own and use these things?