The 40 year old Linen Closet

Today, like other decades past, I'm cleaning out the linen closet...it is almost 40 years of collections in there.. every few years I dig thru it and declutter the things that suddenly I'm questioning why I kept them. It takes me several hours as I pour over the past and memories of things emerging.  I call it a "linen closet", but it has 7 shelves of various departments.  There of course are the linens...the tablecloths, the towels, then all the stuff I can't bear to part with at the moment I'm stuffing it in.   Today I counted 23 tablecloths.  I managed to get rid of about 3.  Most of them are vintage and it's hard to throw away something that has survived so long.  I did cut the beautiful 8" crochet off one of them and of course I'm thinking I'll sew it on another tablecloth...someone crocheted that 100 years ago...I found two graduation robes and hats.  I found homework that I was rather proud that I got an A on...it wasn't Chad's homework, I can say that.  I found letters from my mother to my grandmother all about my new apartment and my ability to buy  thrift store furniture and turn it into a designer look...funny I just bought furniture from Craigslist this week.  There were many zip lock vacuum packed baby clothes.  I had to take some out and drink in the fragrance of a newborn still lingering.  Why keep something with formula stains...so some of it went.  There was Chad's hawaiian shirt set, Carrie's tie die newborn t-shirt, chelsea's black maryjane shoes..and all the homemade blankets from family and friends...even the one my ancestors came home in, in the early 1900's.  There is the canopy and bedskirt my mom made for Chelsea's crib..and the Hello Kitty sheet set that my granddaughter now HAS to have each visit..my great grandmother's two bonnets that she made to garden in...I'm sure Laura Ingalls had one just like it. Somethings are now gone to trash, or goodwill...and others are tucked neatly back into place. Little shoeboxes full of hand drawn cards and report cards..and the headpiece to my wedding dress, long gone to the landfill. It looks great to open the door and see 7 shelves of my life neatly organized.  Maybe another day I will dig thru more memoirs of my life which are buried under the beds and again have a great time weeding and remembering why I stuffed that under here.