The Great Purge…
A. Oh, let’s see, an entire set of Hazel Atlas “Musical Pigs” barware I bought (and then never used) in the mid-1990s, a laundry basket full of random opened bottles of booze, antique plates passed down to me from my grandmother, a circa 1999 Pets.com sock puppet in the box, and other stuff that’s been taking up space in my life!
Q. What sort of things have I given away this month?
So, I had 10 days off from work a few weeks ago and was supposed to travel to see family and friends. But, given the state of the variant du jour, I decided to stay home. So that gave me a big chunk of time and nothing planned out. Sounds great, right? I had thought that I’d lay out all the projects I want to do in 2022, and I did do some of that. Instead I ended up in my garage purging, letting go of things I’ve been holding onto for way too long. Some stuff went to friends, some to my local Buy Nothing group, and some was donated. I sold a few things too. Everyone scored big time, let me tell you! Though, I’ve had some big feels watching it all go.
One notable sale: A guy in Louisiana bought my mid-century maple dining set and is going to have it shipped to him. When that goes, I’ll have room for my new adjustable art table. Yes, I’m making room for more art in my life, which is super exciting! (Also looking out for my daughter because I don’t want her to be stuck with my lifetime of complicated memories!)
Honestly, overall, the Great Purge of 2022 has been pretty great. As draining as exorcising the past through rehoming objects has been, it’s also been freeing. I’m not in charge of all those things anymore. I don’t ever have to interact with those objects again and feel whatever emotional charge they were throwing back. I think the most eye opening part of it all the amount of hope I had placed on objects. Like I would be able to touch the past again somehow. The past is the past and I need as much space—physical and mental—as possible to move forward. I have some big ideas and I look forward to finding out if it’s possible for me to do them!
Long story short, I didn’t have the staycation I wanted but I did have the one I needed.
— Rusty Blazenhoff
P.S. Out with the old, in with the new to me: I’ve wanted to do screen printing at home since forever. To make this happen, I need an exposure unit but they are so expensive new! Anyone have one just collecting dust in their garage that I can have?
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