Sentimentalist...or hoarder?

We had some friends from Canada staying with us for a few days last week, hence the mild panic last post about the lack of shower in the refurbished bathroom. Since we don't have a spare room as such we decided to put them up in the boys bedrooms and sitting room ( it started life as their play room but as they are now teenagers I'm not allowed to call it that anymore!) and let the boys sleep in the office.


Not only was it the best sleeping arrangement for all concerned but it was also a cunning plan on my part to get the boys involved in some serious tidying and de-cluttering. Or so I thought.


I'm probably not the best role model when it comes to throwing things out or getting rid of unnecessary items. If something gets broken or damaged, whether a toy, ornament, book or clothing  I'll try and fix it rather than consign it to the bin. A make do and mend mentality that wouldn't be a problem in itself, in fact many would applaud my efforts. Unfortunately it's joined by a  rather liberal dose of sentimentality, never a good combination if you want a streamlined home.


How much easier it would be to put things away if drawers and cupboards weren't filled with old birthday/Christmas cards, handmade calendars, art work from playgroup, nursery and primary, Halloween costumes, prizewinning poems and stories, pebbles, shells, pressed flowers and leaves, entry tickets and information leaflets........the list goes on.


Now, I was under the impression that this was a personal foible, especially since my husband didn't seem to show any signs of similar idiosyncrasies.  However, during last weeks great tidy-up it became apparent that I have passed it on to the boys( it must be genetic). Rather than discarding anything they spent most of the day organising their treasures into piles, three to be exact. A pile that could be given to charity, a pile that was to be kept in their room, and a pile that could be boxed up but had to be kept in the loft. I'll let you guess which was the smallest pile!


The largest pile was of their childhood books, ones they were way past reading but couldn't bear to part with.

Only one of 4 boxes of books that made their way in to the loft

The Hairy Maclary series, a firm favourite with all of the males in the house

Some of the funkiest illustrations ever

So the boxes were lifted up later that night, deposited next to a cache of others filled with knitted baby jackets and christening robes, the first year of shoes, wooden train sets, wedding cards and best man speeches, letters from family and friends. 
Some might see it as hoarding, an inability to let things go. As for me? Well, I'm just glad we have a really big loft!