Since it's Sunday morning, I guess I had better close the bar until later. Do come back though, I promise to fix the plumbing problem in the men's room.
Anyway, yesterday, my dad and I cleaned out my mother's things. It really wasn't as _____ (fill in your own reaction here) as it sounds. It was just something that needed to be done since he starts back to school tomorrow and will be busy.
My mother was a very small person ("Yeah, well, what happened to you?" Shut it. I was adopted, remember?) but, it turns out small clothes take up just as much space as not-so-small ones. Seriosuly, the clothes. It must have been a special feat to store that many clothes from many, many decades in their small house. The thing is, you never saw them, the house has always been neat as a pin ("Yeah, well, what happened to you?" Shut it. I was adopted, remember?), but, I'm tellin' ya, they were there. Eleven contractor-sized garbage bags and two full trunk loads of stuff and we're not quite done.
I've also inherited two more pieces to add to my, "Crocheted Afghans That Once Belonged To Far Flung Relatives Who Are Dead Now So Therefore They Are Heirloom-ish and Sentimental" collection. My dad wasn't sure of their origins, but he thought they were old, so I get to house them now. I'm pretty sure my mother acquired them the same way.
As an only child who also married into a family of all boys, I am a target for this sort of blanket bestowing. Relax, I'm not ungrateful, I understand and appreciate the meaning. I have just turned into someone with a lot of old crocheted afghans.
In case you were wondering, the best gift you can give your family is to clean out your closet. It's not so much the work involved, it's just that your family will make fun of all that stuff you saved after you're gone.
I'm off to clean out my own closet now, just in case.
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That's a hard thing to do.
I had to clean out my parent's home, and they lived there for about 50 years. What a job!
Cas
Afgans are good.
Geez! My mom had a bizzilionty outfits with shoes and accessories to match. Of course my dad had to get it out like the next week after she died (dont know what was up with that). The thing I regret was erasing her voice from the answering machine. Gave me chills at first but what I wouldnt give to hear it now....
My three sisters and I had to clean our our mother's closet when she died. We actually had a good time doing it--it was kind of cathartic. My mom was small, too, but I found quite a few things I could wear. 20 pounds later, I've had to give some of them away, but it helped to wear them in the first couple of years.
My dad could not clean out my mom's closet so he left the task to me (the only child!) and it took me over a year to finally clean out her closet and then I had to have a friend help because I would have ended up with everything at my house!! I had to put my dad into a nursing home so I cleaned out his house for over a month. I actually took two weeks of vacation because there was so much s**t, er, interesting nic-nac's that had to be moved / packed / discarded! :)
My 2 sisters and I cleaned out some of my mom's closet but it took forever because we kept stopping to remember where she wore every outfit, etc. We found big colorful jewelry from the 70's (my sister actually took one necklace up to NYC because she's determined to bring it back into style).
We also found some kind of mulitcolored hip hop hat that we can't figure out. It would have been perfect on Re-Run. Now it's in my boys' dress-up trunk.
Congrats on making it through the job.
And our mom was 5'10" amd my tallest sister is 5'6" so we couldn't wear a thing of hers. Sad.
Cleaning out the closet is not a fun thing. My step mom died, and I "inherited" several things that way, then my dad died - thus more. Noiw my in laws have moved to a retirement apartment, and she is dumping, er, giving all of her children things. I too am an only child who had an aunt and uncle with no children and claimed me. Does this tell you about the state MY house is in?
LMAO... my Mom meticulously cleans out her closets and filing cabinets every year so that when she dies, we don't have to do it!!
I hope you have the same attitude in real life that you do here, its an amazing thing! I guess the truth is "if we don't laugh, we'll cry."
Also, every time I look at your random pic I think about how hot BusyDad is. And then I realize its not actually Busy Dad.
Yours was not an easy task. I've been down that road several times. My aunt and uncle had not children, but claimed me. That was the first wave. Then my step mom died, more stuff. Dad died in January - more. My in laws just moved into a retirement community apartment. She has bestowed mountains of things on her children. Needless to say, you can imagine the state of my house. My poor kids!
Oh Shitake mushrooms! I better get a move on my closet too. At what point do you throw away the un-used *ahem* sex toys so your kids don't find them and have to live the remainder of their lives with that visual.
Dawn
It sounds like you are one afghan away from starting an heirloom afghan blog. But seriously, I'm glad you and your dad were able to go ahead and go through your mom's things. I'm sure it wasn't easy, although as always you are able to see the comical side of things.
It sounds like a hard thing to do. Both my parents are still with me, but they've made some preparations for the inevitable and every time they talk to me about them, I find it unsettling.
When my mom's sister died, my mother offered to clean out the closet. She called me on Day Three of Operation Get It Out of Here and said, "Sue had FORTY pairs of SHORTS! Who needs FORTY pairs of SHORTS?!?"
I was home two weeks ago, and I looked in my mother's closet and I swear she has at least forty pairs of shorts. I'm already making fun of her.
I had to clean my mom's closet as well. It was fun going through old costume jewelry and the fifty thousand pairs of briefs. Dawn, it was kinda icky finding the toy...no one wanted to touch it. Honest, I think we may have sold it with the bedroom set.... lol
Aw crap. I have to go empty that storage garage and get rid of everything now, don't I? And THIS week especially it is really hitting home that this is something I must do.
Thanks for the kind words and the drop-by, dear.
After my dad died, I looked into his desk and there was a half a roll of Certs. He always had Certs on him. I kept that. I also kept the ugliest tie in the closet because in one of my first memories of him, he had on that hideous tie.
I try to own nothing that would be incredibly embarrassing if my family were to find them should I suffer from some untimely demise. Seriously, doesn't everyone think about that sometimes? Or is it just me?
That thought reminds me of that Curb Your Enthusiasm episode from Season 1, where Larry has to go clear out his friend's hidden porno collection before he goes into surgery.
Not that I have a porno collection. I'm just sayin.
Kim and I are in the process of, for the first time in 12 years, completely cleaning out and remodeling parts of the house. How bad could that be, you may ask? We rented a roll-out (picture a dumpster on steroids) to deal with everything we are pitching out. We couldn't believe how much junk we have somehow accumulated over the years. The good news? We found two old Indian head pennies in a box in a basement closet dated 1888 that could possibly be worth $1,000 apiece!! We have no idea where they came from!!
I think I'll start cleaning my closets right now. And every other nook and cranny. I hope you are holding up as well as it seems here.
My sisters and I have been working on Mom's stuff for about four months now (she died in January). Dad asked us to do it, which isn't a bad thing - he's too hyper, wants to throw everything out before we have a chance to look at it.
The thing that's made it take so long is that Mom never went through her sister's things after she died! We've had a great time making fun of the dozens of matching sweatshirts-and-stirrup-pants sets we've found.
Gotta clean out my own closet now...
Kudos to you for being in fine form (it seems) for this not-so-pleasant task. I know that's hard.
Yes, tying up loose ends is a great gift to leave behind. My grandmother is a classic case of this - 91 years old in two months and she finally sold the townhouse in downtown Houston that she's owned for oodles of years. She's been a landlord for over 20 years and it was time.
We are all relieved.
"Crocheted Afghans That Once Belonged To Far Flung Relatives Who Are Dead Now So Therefore They Are Heirloom-ish and Sentimental"
TOO FREAKIN FUNNY!
I hope it was an easy task for you and pop. You are definitely a good daughter! : )
At the risk of sounding tacky, do you actually want to house the "Crocheted Afghans That Once Belonged To Far Flung Relatives Who Are Dead Now So Therefore They Are Heirloom-ish and Sentimental?" I'm getting the feeling that the answer is "no." You might test it out on the Busy Kids and ask them if they'd like to use the items or take them when they're older.
Another option would be to donate them to a homeless shelter this winter and give them new life rather than the back corner of the closet.
Funny, since my dad's passing, my mother has been going to great lenghts to get rid of things "so that it is not so much of a burden on you and your sister." But at the same time, 2 years after my father's passing, she still has not got rid of all of his clothes. She apparently is trying to find a "home" for everything. For example, she donated his dress shirts to a local grammar school when she learned they were looking for shirts for kids for graduation tha could not afford new dress shirts. Which is nice and all, but NOBODY is going to want my father's old sport jackets from the 70's, but she is not fully ready to let go I guess.
My MIL had the idea of clearing out her loft for the same reason. unfortunately it was 20 years ago and I'm sure that by now she's replaced all the things that she threw out.