They had a “closet expert” on TV on the House and Garden channel who would help people organize their closets and learn to throw things away.
She said she would never try to get anyone to inspect the last farthest box in the closet because it was there for a reason: It had survived many attempts to toss, but never would be. And yet, by its very location, it was something that was almost never looked at.
So what is in that last farthest box in your closet. (No, not the stash of secrets, which you can get at easily enough when you want to, but the stuff you never look at but can’t part with.)
Mostly styrofoam and air, because the last few boxes in the closet are boxes that some of my expensive toys came in (cameras, computers, telescopes, etc). I’m keeping them in case I ever want to ship those items or sell them on eBay.
My Halloween paraphernalia and costume box are the farthest. I purge very regularly so I don’t have anything really old. The Halloween box is within eyesight and reach and my closets are relatively small.
I could never get on one of those shows because I just don’t allow things to pile up. I watch them with a sick sense of fascination and discomfort!
It’s got all of my X-Files stuff in it. All the issues of the X-Files magazines, all the TV Guides that feature the show on the cover, all other magazines that have Mulder and/or Scully on the cover. All pristine with the original sales receipts tucked inside. Yeah, I’m anal.
Calligraphy used to be a hobby of mine, and all my calligraphy supplies are there: pens, rulers, etc. I swear, one of these days I’m going to get back in it (just like my ten-year-old blue jeans).
Well my closets just aren’t that deep, but in my “storage closet” I keep:
My comic book collection
My Halloween costumes
My cowboy hat
My camping gear
Shoes that I only wear on special occasions (cowboy boots, dressy heels, etc.)
Snowboarding gear
Christmas stuff
And no, there’s no way anyone could get me to throw out any of it.
A hand-embroidered costume that my grandmother brought from Konavle, Croatia, in 1911, when she emigrated to the US. The costume includes hat, shoes and wide belt.
In the same box are some hand-embroidered silk clothing items (pajamas, robes, kimonos) that my uncle brought back from Japan after WWII.
All are beautiful and in excellent condition. All of us sibs, cousins, neices and nephews have been photographed at least once, wearing what was gender appropriate (except for Danny, but that’s another story).
The part of my movie collection that consists of old rental copies in unmarked plastic cases. No, not porn, just cheap, cheap tapes I got at a time when I put movies and booze over things like food and furniture. Place around 14th & 6th in Manhattan used to sell them 10/$5 or something ridiculous like that, & I’d spend hours sorting through them to find what I wanted. I may replace them all with DVDs eventually, but I’ll never part with the box.
My kids’ teeth & ultrasound pics. My grandparents’ wedding pic. The nursing pin I got when I graduated. The medals I got in the Navy. A champagne cork labeled “New Years-1988”. A poker chip signed by Phil Hellmuth. Various other odds and ends that remind me of cool things that happened to me over the years.
