Makes Sense To Me

 Perhaps the title of this week's blog should be "Things I Should Get Rid Of But Don't" ... or maybe "I Have My Reasons".

I have been struggling with cleaning out my closets for many months now.  I think about it, but don't take much action.  Then today I was looking around my home and noticed that there are a lot of things that could go that are not in closets. Want to be clear on one thing ... my home is not cluttered; it just holds a lot of "stuff" that I tend to hang onto. 

Let's start with bottles.  I have gathered up too many old, small bottles from here and there over the years -- mostly that I have found while walking in fields or along old dusty roads in the few months here that don't have snow.  Why do I keep them?  I like looking at them. That is also why I keep photographs from over the years in baskets sitting around here and there. I simply like them handy when I feel like looking at them.

Then -- there are things I have found in my yard  -- trinkets and odds and ends that I like to think were dropped by crows that like me and pinecones that I religiously gather whenever they fall.  It's not every year... so the pinecones are special.  Why do I keep them in baskets in my garage?  I make "stuff" out of them that probably only I appreciate, but ... I like them.  Oh -- I also put them in the bottom of pots before adding dirt when I repot plants.  Why? ... because I tell myself they must have nutrients that are good to enrich the soil and make for healthier plants.  I, by the way, have no idea if that is true or not... or maybe I read that somewhere.  Don't care.  I tell myself a lot of things that make me feel good about what I do.  Doesn't everyone?  They should.

Am third and the last for today -- are the piles of homemade afghans.  Some are on the couch (always at least two), others on beds throughout the house and several neatly folded for future use in the big closet.  I cannot even count the number I have given away over the years. I think three of them have even gone to college. Why do I have so many?   Because I find that knitting or crocheting them is fun and has the added benefit of keeping my fingers, hands and wrists from solidifying.  Oh --and they keep me warm while I am working on them on snowy, cold days ....  I like to think that when anyone wraps him/herself up in one that it is a hug from me. Every member of my immediate family has a Mom/Nana afghan. I have even made afghans for my pets over the years.  Why?  It's what I do.

Guess we all have our "things".  Multiple junk drawers come to mind as do jars of buttons from 4 generations, multiple hammers and assorted tools, too many old pens, favorite clothing that should have been cut into rags years ago.... Now that I writing about this, I think any list could be pages long.  My list could be.

At least I don't keep creepy things like snake skins that I have found over the years. I put gloves on and throw them into the trash and then shiver for a few minutes. What I do have hanging around the house, in the basement, in my garage, and in my little red barn makes perfect sense to me and... that is all that matters really. I like my stuff and I like it around me for whatever reason.  "One man's junk is another man's treasure."  (I also love old proverbs.)