OK, I have HAD it with minimalist shaming!!!! I love my stuff!

[EuterpeThelo]

7. Hear, hear!! THANK YOU for saying this!

I am the sole keeper of pretty my family's entire history. From my grandfather's violin that went to WW1 with him to my great-grandmother's china doll and the button hook for her shoes, from my grandma's teacups/saucers and her hand-made linens to my mama's Franciscanware dish set and mid-century modern furniture, from the solid wood and leather bar that was my dad's pride and joy (even though he didn't really drink, LOL!) and his autographed baseball signed by the 1961 Yankees, to my brother's Bye-Lo baby and comic books...a few of my grown daughter's most beloved childhood books and toys and things she made just for me with her own then-tiny hands.

Then there are my own collectibles - vinyl albums and assorted rock 'n' roll ephemera, much of it rare or signed, 13 bookshelves of books (many also rare/signed, including but not limited to autographs from Helen Keller, Vincent Bugliosi, Ken Kesey and Bill Clinton, just to name a few), a few Madame Alexander and Barbie treasures, fairy and unicorn figurines, my travel magnets that represent how lucky I've been to knock off SO MANY of my bucket list destinations...all of which I've been curating since I was about twelve (so nearly 45 years).

Is some of it in the garage or storage? Sure, because my home is just 1,350 square feet and my brother's place is so small we still have to get a hotel when we go up to visit him and my SIL.

Although the house is pretty full, it's super organized. I use vertical space to the max and have so much of the aforementioned displayed it's like a wonderful museum full of curiosities.

Anyone that tells me I need to just throw that stuff away like trash can GFY. I've had to deal with it every time someone in my family died. Yeah, it's a hassle and it hurts. It's also part of respecting that person's life and all they experienced and I consider it an honor to have been entrusted with everything they loved.

Plus, I can't count the number of times I've saved myself an enormous hassle when my computer keyboard died in the middle of a busy workday or I suddenly needed a zip tie for something because I could just go out to my garage and get one instead of having to stop and go to the store or waste time and $ on DoorDashing the item.

One of my daughter's friends recently said to me that she loves my house because it is warm, cozy and she loves that I have surrounded myself with items that hold special meaning to me. Not much of it is worth a lot of money, but we Cancerians are the most sentimental sign of the zodiac; memories of home and family are what "sparks joy." Especially now that so, so many of my loved ones have gone beyond the veil ahead of me, it gives me comfort to handle things they once touched.

Maximalists unite!

"I want to lead the Victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter." - Freddie Mercury