A little place for your stuff

My wife and I recently faced the challenging and often emotional act of disposing of her mother’s possessions and saying good-bye to her home after she had passed away. You might think that we would be better prepared, having already experienced this process when my own mother died some years ago. But, no matter how many times we had talked with Mom about her wishes, or how thorough she was making her own end-of-life arrangements, everything she left behind had its own story and special meaning.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to contend with much sibling rivalry or vulture-like relatives. My wife and her sister methodically went from room to room, identifying the pieces of furniture, clothing, jewelry, books and home décor that each wanted to take as a memento and tribute to their mother’s life. Once they had finished, friends and relatives were invited over to do the same. Then, Mom’s extensive book collection was boxed up and donated to the local public library, her wardrobe donated to a women’s resource center, her religious artifacts donated to her local parish. A garage sale was next.

When all was said and done, there still remained a small truckload of unclaimed and unwanted items. Even though Mom’s house was small by today’s standards, it was the only home she had ever known and lived in as an adult for more than 50 years.

Just as my mother had done, my mother-in-law had chosen to fill her home with books, artwork, and knickknacks that she enjoyed looking at and being with every single day of her life. Having done more than a little of that ourselves in our own home, I can certainly understand and respect that choice.
What I can’t understand is having so much stuff that you’re forced to rent a self-storage unit. And you may have noticed that the number of self-storage facilities around Nassau County seems to be multiplying like rabbits!

Sure, we all have our justifications: “I only need it until I find a new place to live.” “We’ve finally decided to down-size now that the kids are gone.” “You just never know when this might come in handy.” And so on.

The real bottom line? American consumers have taken consumption to new heights, be it the amount of food we eat, energy we use, or goods we buy. And we seem to do so with little or no regard for anything but our immediate gratification.

But there will always be consequences, both short- and long-term. Our landfill might no longer be able to accommodate waste, the cost of fuel will continue to rise, land will be cleared for more shopping centers (and storage facilities), traffic will only get worse. Maybe George Carlin was right after all … “All you need in life is a little place for your stuff.”

It’s been said that baby boomers are to blame, since they intend to live forever. But I still have to wonder how important something can be if it’s not a part of your day-to-day life. For my part, I wish that we were all more conscious about the way we treat each other and our environment. Even with our federal stimulus checks in hand (but don’t get me started on that topic), it would be nice if we thought twice before acquiring more meaningless stuff.