Did you ever wonder who designed the very first attic and why? No, well okay. How about the issue of junk? Did homo-sapiens always have a need to possess it or did it evolve like man, from some infinitesimal speck of sand or in the back of an old Chevrolet? In the ancient world, there were citadels to store grain and basements for that which there was no room for above, but without grain to store we in the modern world are still running out of attic space.
No matter where attics came from, I have never seen a bare one. They always seem filled to the brim with “things” floating and standing that one no longer uses but cannot throw out, repair or otherwise deal with. Its very existence spells disorganization for everyone. This is especially true after holidays, when things usually stored away need to be put back and there is never enough time or energy to put them exactly where they were on that high shelf. So decorations plural transforms into clutter singular that sits and gathers dust, preparing for the next holiday or worse, the greatest dust-buster of them all, eternity.
So how can one solve this problem? It seems too simple to say, “well, throw everything out.” No, my friends, the secret to dealing with an attic is organization. It is a miracle that as I write this word that I am not struck dead by the powers that be in the land of the Great Manitou. This is because I am not organized and it is highly unlikely that my condition is curable, although it has improved somewhat over the years.
Life has forced me to keep track of bills, children, pets and other things. My first file cabinet was purchased only after I had written so many stories that I could not find them in the pile that had grown on a table next to my television set. When it became level with the antennae, I decided to get organized. Don’t let this happen to you.)
Attack, destroy, throw out or donate to charity. You must look at everything in your attic in this cluttered new light. There will be some things you can put away and keep and if you do it with organization and thought, you might even be able to find them again. This may work with records and magazines. Forget about the fact that record players don’t exist anymore and neither do records for that matter. Memories are deeply etched and mustn’t be denied. Magazines may date back to the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922, but if you really must have all those National Geographics all yellowed and torn, then you must keep them.
Label your possessions and put them in large containers. Letters and other paper ephemera can be collected and put all in one place. If you have much of this, then two or three large containers will do. If you can stand it, find the time to sub-organize; it will save time later. In other words, letters should be in one box and clippings and maybe cards in another. You divide and decide. It is, after all, your clutter.
Do YOU have an attic clutter problem? Please share.