weekend check-in

[rmc28]

Hello hello, how are we doing?

Last weekend I did the first-pass of the last remaining boxes of my mother's things, allowing me to return six empty storage boxes to my stepfather on the Monday. Lots of the contents went straight to the bin/paper recycling, but now I have to deal with what's left. And I'm still trying to get things to leave the house. This weekend is more challenging for getting anything done: spouse is away for a week at a conference, so I'm doing all the childcare and housework on top of my job, plus I have an aunt visiting town for a course. So I'm going to scrabble together a to-do list here and hope to get through it.

• Bag of books to the Little Free Library (can hopefully do this on my way to meet aunt this morning)
• Bag of things to the charity shop (this afternoon when I get back from town, unless they're already full by then)
• Parcel up the baby things to my sister-out-law for her niece, and send (this afternoon when I get back, because then I can get it collected hopefully tomorrow)
• Parcel up the box of papers for my youngest brother, and send (as above)
• Photograph the things for probable-giveaway, and circulate to brothers to see if they want anything before listing it (today, and ask them to tell me by next weekend at latest)
• If the box of things to giveaway at the end of the road has still not gone at the end of today, give up and put in the bin tonight (it's had 3 days, in very good weather, with a lot of passing foot traffic, if it's not gone now it won't)

Stretch goal: we've had a Christmas tree up for nearly 18 months, it was kind of a joke all last year that I was too busy to take it down but the joke isn't funny any more. I'm actually embarrassed about it. Maybe if I'm on a productive roll this afternoon I'll finally take it down. (And I will not be the one putting it back up in December this year - if the others in the house want it, they can do it.)

Comments

[illariy]

Your mother sounds like she had a wonderful stash!

Inheriting 5 fountain pens from my mother kind of busted my fountain pen minimalism. I had lived with just 2 fountain pens for years but then finding myself suddenly with 7 at once, I lost all restraint and went on to order many more, currently sitting at about 16 total with tons still on my wish list. I am also still using up her extensive card stash and still have some notebooks of hers to fill though I already used up some.

It would be funny if your children (if you have any) were to inherit parts of your mother's stash, too! Although that if even possible is hopefully a long way off in the future.

[rmc28]

I have to admit, sorting through my mother's things has been and remains a massive inspiration for decluttering my own things, so my children don't face the same work one day.

(Although, there's stuff from my paternal grandmother, that seems to have ended up with my mother even though my parents divorced 20+ years ago, that I am putting aside for my father, and fully expect to find again when it's time to sort through his things. It will be "oh, hello again, fancy meeting you here, this time I can justify throwing you out".)

But yes: she loved to collect nice notebooks, notecards, postcards, souvenir pens, and also for some reason matchbooks from literally dozens of hotels. We'll probably never need to buy matches again either.