“We’re not throwing away that pillow,” I told Sera as we began sorting through what was supposed to be a spare bedroom in our basement. When my wife and I moved into our house several months ago, we diligently unpacked the essentials and hurriedly packed away the odds and ends that you move with you from home to home and never really do anything with. I suppose saying we packed them away would be a bit misleading, as they’ve been sitting in a spare bedroom for months instead of an actual storage space, like a closet or under the stairs. With impending family visits just around the corner to celebrate the holidays, we realized the time had come to go through these non-essentials.

In my defense, the room didn’t start off filled with boxes. I actually recall a time shortly after we moved in where we had Sera’s family stay over and one of her sisters stayed in that room. As our unpacking continued, though, it became the natural place to put household items without a place. In addition to the odd and unusual items, the room also became the placeholder for the many boxes I was receiving from my parents. Note to young homeowners: When your parents realize you have space in your home, they will start to unload all of the stuff they’d been holding on to that was yours.

Clearly Sera and I weren’t looking forward to diving head first into the boxes now filling the spare bedroom. Despite the extra space, we knew some things would have to go. After a few hours of sifting through treasures and trash, Sera found my old pillow. She’s attempted to dispose of it many times. In fact, she’s even claimed that we left it at our townhouse when we moved away, and on another occasion claimed she had already thrown it out. Of course I saw through these fibs, but I was once again at a crossroads with her plan to dispose of a precious family heirloom.

I’ve had this old pillow for many, many years. I’m quite certain it was once my father’s, and though I’m not sure how it came to be mine, I know that it did a brilliant job of keeping me asleep each night with a fresh, cold side always one flip away. When Sera bought us both new pillows last year for Christmas, I knew she was finally making her move to retire my classic headrest once and for all. She may have succeeded in switching out my pillow, but I still won’t depart from it permanently.

These past few days of purging and packing have allowed me to really reflect on the treasures I’ve collected throughout my years. I found words of affirmation in letters from high school friends, an autobiography I wrote in sixth grade and my baby book with all the little facts about the first years of life I look forward to soon documenting with our little girl. Sometimes it’s OK to pack away keepsakes for the pure joy of finding them again many years later.

Of course, not every good memory could be kept. The most difficult thing for me to throw away was a pair of shoes, oddly enough. You see, Sera’s the shoe collector of the family, so I wasn’t expecting to feel so attached to the pair of brown shoes I rediscovered this week. I frequently moved them around the spare bedroom as I worked through the boxes, not quite ready to depart from them, yet ultimately knowing their fate. This pair of shoes had been with me to so many places: college, England, Greece, Turkey and now here. There aren’t many possessions that truly journey with you like a pair of shoes does. Unfortunately, their usefulness had faded and the soles, now filled with rocks from my worldly journeys, were far from comfortable. It was time to say goodbye.

Sometimes I forget the power of the objects around us. Little memories can be tucked away just waiting to be rediscovered on a day of dread when you finally commit to cleaning a spare bedroom. It’s important work, choosing what can stay and what can go. In some ways, we’re all curators of our lives — collecting and keeping momentos to call upon another day. As you find yourself downsizing your storage room, I encourage you to revel in the memories you rediscover and add a few new ones to the box you’re cleaning out.

 

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.