Emptying the nest

It’ll Come In Handy Someday

Shelley

I remember hearing it growing up. I remember saying it growing up. And I still say it more than I care to admit. “Don’t you dare toss that, or donate it, just keep it – It’ll come in handy someday!” It’s the perfect phrase and the demise of every Dubious MinimalistTM

How do I know? Because I’m the Queen of Dubious MinimalismTM. I claimed the title back in November 2017 (you can read about it here). It was the fall of the full-on official empty nest in our house. Our youngest had graduated from college that spring, landed back home for a few months, then moved out everything from her room into one of our apartments. Yeah – we take things gradually here. LOL.

Who am I kidding, I’m fibbing, she did leave some things behind that we’ve been storing for her until she needs them someday. We moved them around multiple times. Same thing with our oldest daughter’s stuff. History and the tendency for Dubious MinimalismTM repeats itself. You can’t escape it.

After marrying the man of my dreams in 1989, I carried with me the prized collection of 1987 Rolling Stone magazines. I found them in a box yesterday. Will they bring me fortunes to retire on? Or will they crash and burn like the stock market in 1987…speaking of that, I wonder will that repeat again?

Fast forward to current years and yet another thrift sale prep week for our history books. Thrift sales may just be the place to find things cheap compared to the stores and the collectible shortages. I’ve got tons of 1990’s Happy Meal toys – just saying, if you’re looking for Christmas or birthday gift ideas!?

This thrift sale, it’s my mother-in-law telling us kindly, “We’re doing this now so that you don’t have to do it when we pass away.” Did one of you send her the Swedish Death Cleaning book?

Me: “Thank you – I do appreciate it, it was tough enough going through my mom’s stuff 12 years ago.”

Her: “You’re going to put stuff in it and help, right? What’s in that pile you’ve got stored in our barn, are you ready to part with any of it?”

Me: “Umm…yes, a few things, yes, I’ll help. It’s mostly empty boxes there, we think?”

When our oldest daughter was just a toddler, still in the take a daily nap stage, my MIL and I worked hours and hours and hours in that barn pricing all the items that her parents and her MIL left in their homes. When they sold their homes, they moved the stuff to their house. It was the BIGGEST thrift sale I had ever seen. But, this one, is going to top that one or be damn close to it. They have filled a two-plane hanger, a lower level of a barn, and a couple of 10X12 tents with stuff that they kept that might come in handy someday. When I empty my SD card, I’ll take photos to show you!

What have I found to add to the sale? A few things that I had saved – aka, might come in handy someday kind of things…decorative plates that were my mom’s and possibly my MILs that I rescued from a previous sale. I did hang a couple of them for decoration over the years. But have since given up the desire to clean them regularly.

I’ve found quite a bit to sell – more than I care to share just yet.

The moving around of items has gotten the cats freaking out. New spaces to explore and when they’re up high, it’s bird-watching galore.

They’re climbing and sniffing everything to make sure it is okay to part with. Claiming spots to scent for the future owners to enjoy. I guess? People always wash what they buy, especially when it comes to clothes!

My heartstrings are tugging though…I don’t really fit into the 90s mom jeans that might just bring in a fortune. The little dog coats, leash, harness, and collar are priced to sell – oh, sigh, I miss my little guy.

And I miss my mom, my kids, and an empty room without a mess. I know for sure that photos always come in handy someday!

And, I’m mighty thankful that my MIL is having this sale, so my garage won’t look like this again someday.

It’s been 12 years!

My oldest was a senior in high school when we had that sale with all my mom’s stuff. I talked with her this morning when she called to wish me Happy Mother’s Day, I told her about the boxes of her stuff I found.

She said, “If I haven’t needed them for a decade, I don’t need them now. You have my permission to burn, toss, sell, throw, whatever your heart desires.”

Me: “Is it hereditary that you hung on to those things as we did?”

R: “We all do it, mom – we all hang on to weird things that might come in handy someday. Trust me, I won’t miss something I can’t remember if I had it or not.”

And the cycle of life continues, 29 years ago, I birthed a new and brighter version of the Dubious Minimalist TM!

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “a phrase you grew up with.” Include in your post a phrase your mom/dad/grandparent/sibling used all the time when you were growing up, or just write whatever inspires you based on that phrase. Enjoy!

PS – Happy Mother’s Day to you and yours! What do you think I should put for a price on the Rolling Stones magazines? Or should I just recycle them? What have you held onto that might come in handy someday?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

42 thoughts on “It’ll Come In Handy Someday”

  1. It hurts so badly to lose a parent, I feel your pain, Shelley. My mother passed ten years ago and the pain never ends, I have learned to live with it. Wonderful photos, Shelly and happy mother’s day to you! ☺️

    1. Aw, yes, John, it hurts. We do learn to live with it as the memories of the love we shared with our mom’s never fades away.
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts – I hope you celebrated the dear memories of your mom on Mother’s Day!

      1. Oh yes, I called my family members, we talked about mom. So much love. ❤️🙏🏻

  2. My mom had gotten rid of most of her stuff before she moved in with my sister and then had even less. My mother-in-law is a different story and I am not looking forward to that clean out. Especially not with my husband who is even more of the “someday it will come in handy” mind frame than me!

    1. Hi Janet – thank you for sharing your thoughts. That’s nice that your mom was able to part with her items gradually and not leave you with a lot to deal with.
      My MIL/FIL are working hard to help us part with items we’ve all had in storage or have outgrown. I think our family has a bit too much of the ‘someday it will come in handy” – the pain is real until the day comes when that THING whatever it was DOES come in handy. 🤣 Happy Mother’s Day to you – I hope you had a nice day and that you thought of many sweet memories of your mom. The first mother’s day after a mom passes is a tough one. Hugs to you!

  3. I have many things that may come in handy. Some were my father’s – he died 39 years ago in a different state – I brought this stuff from my mom’s house to ours. Sometimes, having it / seeing is reminds me of my dad. Maybe that’s why I keep more of it than I should.

    Good luck, Shelly – Happy Mother’s Day.

    1. Hi Dan, thank you for sharing your thoughts. You no doubt have some wonderful treasures from your dad and mom that, in my mind, would be hard to part with. Have you asked Faith what she thinks about all the stuff?

      Thanks for the well wishes. Our tempers are short and our patience is wearing thin – we may be selling everything for a penny! 🤣😂🤣
      PS – Happy Mother’s Day to the Editor too!

      1. I just keep telling Faith, “I’m leaving this for our kids to figure out.” (She’s an only child, and not fond of that joke),

  4. Have a great sale. I have stuff but have to reduce especially my old music magazines. I must admit I do have lots of “that’ll come in handy one day” stuff in my shed but do you know what, some of it has!!! I always was things after buying them 🙂

    1. Thank you, Brian. We’re still in the prep process, it’s a BIG job. 😣
      Old music magazines just seem worthy of keeping. I hope someone wants mine since I haven’t looked at them in 30 years.
      The ‘that’ll come in handy one day’ stuff does happen. As we’re trying to rebuild our stairs, we’re scouting out our scrap wood piles for pieces that will come in handy. The cost of a green-treated 4X8 plywood is outrageous right now. It’ll be a very creative looking stair replacement 😂
      I hope you’re having a great week!

      1. It has been good so far. Spent the day with my first ever school friend, when we were 4, and his wife who are holidaying at the beach down the road 🙂
        Good luck with finding stair stuff. Do you have second hand building supply places?

        1. That’s great, glad you’re having a nice time with your friends!!!
          We’ve modified the plans and have found the parts. It was expensive! Yes, we do have a second hand building supply place, but I don’t know that we see much lumber there? Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll pass it on to the builder 😉

  5. My husband keeps a lot of wood and project detritus “just in case.” And, darn it if it doesn’t come in handy now and then. We try to keep the house pretty uncluttered, but the garage is a different story (although not as stuffed as the one in your picture we can actually park a car in ours). I’d love to have a separate workshop for hubby but we don’t have the land for that. Happy Mothers Day, Shelley.

    1. Your husband sounds like mine. We’re glad to have some pieces of wood left from previous projects – the prices of lumber are quite high right now.
      I’m aiming for less clutter in all areas. When we had all that stuff in our garage, it was horrible. We plowed through it in a few months and had a huge sale. Unfortunately, some of the items I tried to sell at another sale are still in our garage in boxes. I’m hoping to add them to this HUGE sale and not bring them back if they don’t sell.
      It sounds like your hubby is making due with the space you have.
      Thank you for the HMD wishes. I hope you had a great weekend. 😍

      1. I don’t know if you have a Buy Nothing organization in your area (usually through Facebook) but we’ve gotten rid of a ton of stuff that way. It’s amazing what people want (and others offer for free) and the pick-up is simple.

        1. I don’t know if we have one of those in our area…I need to check it out. Thank you for the idea!!

  6. Some of tose Rolling stones look like they might be collector’s items (in particular the one with John Lennon on the cover). You might want to see what you could get for them on eBay. If that’s too much trouble, recycle them.

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    1. That’s what I was thinking about the magazines. I did a little research and I’m now hoping that someone thinks they’re worth the time and effort to give selling on eBay a try. Otherwise, yep – they’ll be recycled!
      Thank you for the HMD wishes!

  7. I have emotional attachments to stuff. I think there’s a name for that, and I know I shouldn’t, but I do. So it’s hard for me to throw away anything that my mom might have given me or even touched. It seems easy for my husband to throw away stuff, especially my stuff, so that’s a point of contention between us. Keeping stuff or not keeping stuff should probably be a topic discussed before marriage!

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m the same way about the sentimental attachments. I’m starting to think that the longer I hang on to things, the more sentimental I am about them, especially the things that I remember my mom having during my childhood. The struggle is real.
      I think you’re right about a topic to discuss before marriage. I’m surprised how quickly my husband is okay with me parting with gifts he gave me years ago. And how quickly he parts with clothes. I could learn from him. And then, when I look at his workshop, our garage, and his office…I think we both have parting with things issues 🤣😂🤣

  8. Shelley, my husband used to have a severe case of dubious minimalism! I slowly and quietly started tossing and donating things but it’s not easy when kids are always digging through things. But guess what?! I’ve been on a decluttering kick for the past 2-3 years, and I’m starting see a difference in space organization. Last week we went through 2 closets. It got easier as we went. But the kids’ toys are a different story. lol
    Lovely picture of you and your mom!!

    1. Hi Esther – Happy Mother’s Day to you – thank you for sharing your thoughts!
      Congrats on your years of working through the clutter. I remember when my kids were young, it seemed so hard. Especially with all the toys and craft stuff. We stored much of it after they grew out of it, and NOW we’re back at sorting toys again. You’re smart to deal with it as your family grows and changes!

  9. I understand what you’re saying. Similar to your phrase, I grew up hearing: waste not, want not. My well-meaning mother who never quite got over her Depression childhood programmed it into my brain. As an adult I’ve learned to interpret her saying loosely, but she interpreted it tightly. Literally.

    1. I heard the waste not, want not too. I’m pretty sure my kids heard it as well, and not just from my mom, but from me. My mom heard, “there are starving kids in ______, so clear your plate.” That advice lead her on the path to obesity and dementia. The Depression era delivered interesting outcomes now that we can look back on it. I wonder what the next generation will say about our advice these days.
      As always, I appreciate your thought-provoking comments – you’re a treasured blogging buddy!

  10. My mother always said that expression and it has now become my expression, but eventually things have to change but when I have time to do so. In the meantime, I chug alone and know that one day I’ll have a huge decluttering party. The slideshow was nice – precious memories of you and your family and you and your little man Copper as well.

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Linda. I think we’re kindred clutter spirits. We’ll have to celebrate when we finally get to the decluttering phases!
      I’m glad you like the slideshows – I sure miss those moments. But seeing the photos bring back happy memories.

      1. Yes we are kindred clutter spirits Shelley. 🙂 At one time in my life, I could find anything in a heartbeat. I was organized about everything. I did like the slideshow and I think we should be forever grateful for having film cameras and now digital cameras, to have the ability of capturing those precious memories.

        1. The sad thing is, I can remember where something is stored when I’m looking for it, but when I go looking I find things I didn’t remember I saved. Odd, eh? 😏🤔 If you’re looking for a camera that uses film…I know of a thrift sale with every decade of camera styles available! 🤣😉

          1. I do that too – there are long-lost treasures I forgot about. I met someone recently and was chitchatting about cameras and he told me his daughter only uses film as she thinks the pictures are better than digital and she develops them herself. That floored me!

          2. Wow – my husband and father did that too. The cameras are now in the ‘sale of the century’. My youngest might just claim a few of the film cameras just for historical sake!

          3. You should put them on the shelf near your Baby Brownie (or is it going too?) I wish I’d have saved mine that my mom gave me – it had been hers for years. Those old cameras would make an interesting post.

          4. I’m tempted to take more to create a photography shelf. But then I thought to myself, it’ll be a shelf my kids have to clear or we have a sale someday doing the same thing they’re doing trying to clear the house so the kids aren’t stuck with the stuff. I do enjoy looking at the old cameras. Dusting them, not so much. 😉

          6. I looked at the stash of them again yesterday, and only grabbed the one my daughter wants to look at up close. I may change my mind tonight, but the dust factor is winning my heart so far.

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