Today I tackled a project that’s been eating away at me for months: the clearing out of a section of our staircase (AKA our “storage” area).
It was only one corner, but crammed with stuff that has been accumulating for close to five years. Not only was I able to establish some order to the shelves — light bulbs on one shelf; tools on their designated shelf; etc. — but I actually went through all the various containers and discarded lots of items that I know we’ll never use again.
But the worst thing? Well, you know when you assemble a piece of furniture and there are leftover bits (Allen wrenches, screws, nuts and bolts, etc.)? We had tons of those!
You hate to throw them out because — maybe, just maybe — they might come in handy sometime. But they NEVER DO (come in handy, I mean). They just accumulate.
So, between those bits and pieces, and a few other oddities, I have two grocery bags full of stuff to take to the free box.
Hope springs eternal that someone will be able to make use of this stuff!
An espresso serving set (plate, sugar bowl, cups) made by a friend’s relative in Sicily
It was almost exactly seventeen years ago that Ramesha and I packed up our Pregassona (Lugano) apartment and put everything in storage.
He had taken a leave of absence from his middle school teaching job, and we were heading off to live in California for one year — mainly so he could experience some established Ananda communities.
Of course, as most of you know, we were asked to stay and be part of the music ministry at Ananda Village, which meant that on our visits to Switzerland we had to gradually get rid of all that stuff.
Year after year we gave things away; transported what we could to America in suitcases; consolidated what was left into a few storage locations, and — bit by bit — forgot we even owned a lot of the remaining items.
But we recently decided that — for various reasons — this would be the year when we finally emptied the last few storage areas.
It wasn’t easy. First of all, it’s amazing how you can not have thought of something for over fifteen years, but then you see it–! And you immediately remember how much you liked it and how much it means to you and you’re suddenly as attached to it as if you had been using it every day for the past decade (and it’s a thousand times harder when it was a gift). 🤦♀️
The solution in this case was to find new homes for certain items. That way we feel good about passing them along to people we love.
The other challenging aspect of this is that one of the final storage spots was the “locale” (or studio) where Ramesha’s band used to rehearse. When I first moved to Lugano, I would go to rehearsal with him, studying my Italian while wearing earplugs.
At this point, Ramesha hasn’t sung with the band in forever; the band itself broke up a number of years ago; and his friend, Dudo, will very soon be letting go of the locale altogether.
So. yeah… it’s been a little sad and nostalgic, because today was about letting go of some precious memories and releasing some strong attachments. But it was time.
