Cleaning out my dad's garage in Spokane made me see my own stuff differently

I spent last weekend helping him sort through forty years of tools and old car parts. Seeing him struggle to let go of things he hadn't touched since the 90s was like looking in a mirror. I realized I was doing the same thing with boxes of my own old college textbooks in my apartment. It hit me that clutter is just postponed decisions. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where helping someone else clean showed you your own problem?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninaowens1mo agoTop Commenter

Oh man, cleaning my mom's attic did the same thing to me.

max_torres441mo ago

Found a whole box of my baby teeth up there.

jenny471mo ago

Honestly @max_torres44 I used to think keeping baby teeth was super weird. Then I found my own in an old envelope and it hit me different. Seeing those tiny things made my whole childhood feel real in a way photos don't. Now I get why someone would save them, it's like holding a piece of time.