THE URGE TO PURGE

With the arrival of the spring equinox and the promise of warmer weather becoming a reality rather than just a longed-for expectation, I’m looking forward to attending a fresh season of craft shows, art festivals and flea markets in my local area. While it’s fun to browse the booths for accessories to complement my existing decor, I am at that point in my decorating where I really should consider subtracting things from my arrangements before I add more.

In anticipation of these spring and summer shopping excursions, I’m feeling inclined to purge some of the pieces I have acquired since moving into my house 24 years ago. However, I find it difficult to part with or even remove and store objects that remind me of special people and experiences in my life. For example, a once-popular series of porcelain carousel-animal collectibles still takes up a good portion of my dining room cabinet. I recall receiving a figurine in the mail every month over the course of a year and being so pleased when I finally placed the last animal in the turntable to complete the set. Although my dining area could use a style update, I just can’t bring myself to dismantle the carousel display and replace it with new items that don’t offer the same sentimental value.

I imagine you also have many heirlooms and artifacts that elicit fond thoughts of beloved family members or a memorable antique-hunting trip that yielded one-of-a-kind finds. So, what’s a person to do when a collection has outgrown its space, or it’s just time to make room for something else? Well, in my case, you enjoy the best of both worlds by installing a few new shelves to host additional decor and leave a prized carousel in its rightful place.