The aftermath of the cull….
To be honest I have been downsizing for some time now, getting rid of all the ‘stuff’ that no longer has a need and has taken on the role of space thief and dust curator at the same time. Australia Day long weekend was ‘The Big Cull’ but it didn’t go exactly to plan…
On the Thursday before the long weekend my body decided that it would have a crack at vertigo (I have never had it before) and whilst I am totally for trying new things I can now say without a doubt that vertigo is not my kind of thing. Between the sleepiness, dizziness, nausea and the medication I was not myself and couldn’t do anything.
As for B he went in for a ‘routine’ filling on Thursday night that ended up being anything but routine with the tooth requiring extraction afterwards they sent him on his merry way with strong pain meds. Even in my own vertigo induced hazy state, the pain he was in was very evident. There was apparently also ‘complications’ with the extraction which meant some of his jaw bone also had come out as they prised the roots free. Surely that was the end of the rough run, but no this ‘poor me’ post must continue, one of B’s stitches came out that very night.
As a result, B spent Australia day sleepy and I, fighting vertigo, so we were, let’s just say as far from productive as you can get. Looking back, we both spent Australia day in a somewhat semi-conscious state, like most Aussies.
We did actually get something done and as we jumped in and started to clean up we both quickly realised that everything there had been kept for one of two reasons: The ‘just in case’ I need it or the memory attached to the item. The attachment to items intrigued me as we weren’t really holding onto the item we were holding onto the memories attached to the item. Well that was the case for me and my roller derby gear, so many things happened whilst I was skating and they were a symbol of that. Once I got over this attachment I was happy to pass them onto someone else that would get as much enjoyment as I did from them. But the emotional attachment B had for a box of cords I don’t fully understand, must be a male thing.
So, for the ‘long’ weekends (standard with Australia Day written off) progress we got most of the single car garage cleaned out just a few little bits and pieces still to go. It ended up being a bigger job than we thought and the shed is very daunting, I had the fear that the motivation of the cull would subside and it would not get done (my fear has come true). The weekend ended with full bins and piles of sorted ‘Stuff’ standing tall as monuments of our success, it is time to take the next steps jamming full the bins each week until it is all gone, going to the second-hand clothes market, listing items for sale and palming off other ‘stuff’ to people we know… the saga continues.
A tip to those in the process of doing or planning a cull, the items that have memories attached ask yourself, How often do I actually use them? How often do I pull them out and look at them? Why not take a photo of it/them to preserve the memories and pass it on (give or sell) to someone else that will be able to have the same enjoyment that the item once gave to you..