Sentimentality and My Kitchen Blender

Vintage blender with glass pitcher      Another vintage blender with a glass pitcher

In 2016, I wrote a post about the blender (at least 50 years old) that I’d inherited from my mother over 30 years ago. A minor leak in the glass pitcher became major, it was unusable, and had to be discarded. I was so dismayed because using it brought back happy memories of my mother using the blender in her kitchen in New Jersey.

My boyfriend who had inherited a lot of useful kitchen items from his mother,  remembered that her blender was still in one of his kitchen cabinets. I was thrilled, as this blender was vintage, and had a glass pitcher. I happily used it until yesterday when I was about to make a fruit smoothie. I plugged it into an outlet, there was a burning smell, and the blender would not start. This one got thrown out also.

Luckily, my boyfriend had received a very nice food processor for the holidays that I then made my smoothie in. It is plastic, not vintage, and has no sentimental value to me, but it did its job well!

food processor

Both of these blenders were useful, and not clutter in my home. But, when sentimental objects don’t make you happy anymore, or are no longer useful or working, they become sentimental clutter. You’d like to get rid of them, but part of you can’t let go for the sake of the memories they bring, the people they symbolize, or the guilt you’d feel if you did get rid of them. In order to deal with this contradiction you must make a mental shift. Think about what you really want. Do you want to hold on to these items and stay stuck in your clutter and disorganization? Or, let go and have a sense of freedom, and peace of mind.

To make this mental shift, think about the people who can benefit from the items you could get rid of. Particularly during this holiday season! Do you have clothing and coats in your closet that were your mother’s but that you never, ever wear? Perhaps you can donate them to a homeless shelter to help cloth other women who are lacking. Or, have you got shelves full of children’s books that your kids no longer read? Maybe you can give them to an orphanage, preschool, or children’s hospital.

So, instead of clinging to these items, send them on a ‘Sentimental Journey’ that will bring usefulness and pleasure to the recipients (homeless women and men,  children, etc..)

I’d love to hear about the ‘sentimental items’ you are willing to part with; giving other’s in need some things they really could use.

If you live in the Boston area, and would like a FREE 1/2 hour telephone consultation to discuss your clutter issues, contact me at [email protected]

TAGS: clutter, organize, sentimental, organizer in Somerville

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