After a live call-in show on CBC’s BC Almanac with Susan McNamee, a listener called in with a dilemma — her husband’s sweaters. We talked about “Sweatering the Memories” – a play on the phrase “sweating the small stuff.”
To be exact, the listener was concerned about the sweaters that her husband’s mother had knit for him. They had moved into a new home, and they had packed away the sweaters (all 30 of them) in a box. She had refused to unpack them since he never wore them. So they sit, in the (still packed) box, in their basement, never to be looked at again. Yet the husband would not let them go. He would not even talk about them. The organizing challenge was how she was to approach her husband about ‘The Sweaters.’
I often say two components make up the value of an item – Emotional and Usefulness. Obviously, her husband had no use for the sweaters, especially since they were sitting in the box, months after the move, still unpacked. Emotional, on the other hand – BINGO – his mother had made them.
My recommendation for sweatering the memories:
- Throw Blanket: Find someone who can knit. Crafters can take apart hand-knit sweaters and use the yarn to make a throw blanket. You might even consider a ‘patchwork’ of all 30 sweaters. Every time you snuggle up with your re-purposed throw blanket, it will remind you of your dear mother.
- Themed Photo Album: Have some fun and have a dress-up day. Take out your camera and take a picture of your husband in each of the sweaters his mom made. Place them in a photo album with a snappy caption under each photograph (scrapbookers are jumping at this creative project). Use this to honour his mother and the memory of each sweater.
- Donations: Of course, donating the sweaters to a seniors’ home/centre or a charity is a practical argument.
But, as you are well aware, this has nothing to do with a useful decision — it’s clearly an emotional one. And thank goodness it’s only one box.
If you’re having trouble separating the emotions from the clutter, the Out of Chaos team can help. Contact us today.
Image by Karolina on rawpixel.
