Letting the public render opinion on things that were, as someone else noted, already on the chopping block just makes the process open and fair. The public has a right to comment on what their taxes should maintain for the future. People who would fill out a feedback card for these things are people who already visit and value the museum, so it’s not like they don’t have at least some familiarity with the material.

Shoes are shoes are shoes — do you really need to have a friend tell you it’s ok to throw them out?

Or are you saying you’d display 5 items and let your friends pick out one of them to get rid of? Really? If you’re that detached to the fate of them, throw them all away and go do something more interesting with your time.

I’m hoping instead of just tossing the old unwanted stuff, though, they would think to sell or auction it on eBay. I’m sure people would buy those fossil slides for $5 each…. that’s over a million dollars in return. The basket, though, I would say should go in the junk pile!

I do agree with the poster (Mletta?) to the extent she noted that the purging process is made bearable by the knowledge that the stuff you let go of actually goes somewhere. I mean, it was useful and/or beautiful to you in some capacity at some time, and our landfills are crazy-full, so my inner hippie really likes a solution where the stuff I don’t keep goes to someone somewhere (not the rubbish bin). My friends and I do this with a clothing swap at least once per year; their frank opinions are a big part of how I determine whether to keep items I’m on the fence about.

Having said that, I will never, ever get rid of my Birkenstocks. But I’d “display” the really adorable Pooh bear my college boyfriend bought for me and a large number of lovely Christmas ornaments that don’t fit with our approach to decorating the tree. (We buy one ornament per year to commemorate something significant to us, rendering a lot of other ornaments pretty but pretty useless, unless we display them around the house. But we can only use so many in that capacity.)

It fascinates me that some people responded so viscerally to the idea that they actually shuddered. We’re all in a different place with our decluttering, and this is another example of why it can be so difficult because it can be so emotional.

Interesting!

As to what they should do with it all. They should have an auction of the purged stuff to benefit the museum! Sounds like that basket isn’t of any cultural significance (though it probably has its own fan club now), but hey, it is a basket. If it is in good shape, someone buy it for a couple of bucks and use it to gather fruit. The rhino skull, (are they getting rid of it because they have multiples? How funny that would be!) maybe not so useful, but could be an interesting decorative piece that someone could enjoy in their home. Better than it sitting in storage for all eternity.

And, it’s wonderful for a museum to ask for the visitor’s opinion. It’s nice to know the public opinion is appreciated.

Lighten up folks!

I volunteered at a history museum which was trying to sort through multiples of some items. The museum had served as an attic in the past, accepting everything offered, but was developing guidelines for what donations it would and would not agree to take in the future, according to how the things aligned with the museum’s mission.

However, I still feel it’s too much like an episode of American Idol…with voting and such. And I still absolutely hate it for a museum.

The bit with your friends might be fun for some folks, but really if it’s only a few items, just make the decision to keep or toss–lots of time to decide the fate of a few items, really. If it’s an excuse to have a gathering, well, that’s a whole other thing.

Let me say that since a lot of stuff is often retained for sentimental value, having your friends vote could actually be not so much fun. You might find out some things about them in the process, and their feelings about you, that you really don’t want to know.

It’s like they say: Never ask a question unless you’re prepared for the answer.

Erin writes:
It’s important to be able to laugh at the clutter in our lives.

Hmm. Well, I think it’s important to keep perspective about it. I don’t need to laugh when I’m tossing, although I have had to laugh, when I looked back at what was once important. Some things made me laugh, but honestly, a lot of decluttering is painful for many reasons.

Love your blog and your ideas but I’m agreeing to disagree on these bits.

Thanks, M

It’s important to be able to laugh at the clutter in our lives. Obviously, this suggestion would be atrocious for someone downsizing and going in to a nursing home. However, I don’t think my suggestion in the post indicated doing something like this in that situation.

As to “throw a party and let your friends tell you what they really think of your stuff” — are you kidding? To me that is a truly GHASTLY idea. And you think one could “keep it fun”??

It sounds like the concept for a bad reality show, one where the end result would be to purge oneself of some “friends”!

Frankly, I don’t care one iota what my friends (or any other visitors to my home) think of my stuff.

It’s one thing if you’re an expert in the area of the subject matter of the items being considered for tossing. But the general public?

Which of course will include people with all kinds of personal and professional agendas about the items.

Ugh. Totally turns me off and if I were a curator who’d worked for years to preserve stuff, I’d be apoplectic (SP?)

What qualifies the man on the street to say what is valuable in a museum? Sorry, but the average person isn’t even well-educated these days about literature or history to have an inkling of what might be of value and why. (It’s like asking people who’ve never been in an art museum to decide what The Met should keep!)

And even close friends and family (who don’t live with me) don’t get to tell me what’s of value and worth keeping. Nor do I get to tell them!

It’s bad enough when we are suddenly seriously ill, or incapacitated and can no longer make decisions, that people do this with our stuff. And it’s generally pretty horrible when people do it to their parents and elderly relatives when they are forced to move out of a home/apt to a nursing home or ALF.

now we’re doing it with museum stuff.

Shudder. Shudder. Shudder.

PS: Have you ever done a column on de-cluttering of people’s stuff when they have little to no say in it?

Cause that’s something that should be addressed.

When our mother finally moved from her apartment to Assisted Living, I made very sure that she was given choices and consulted on the disposition of things (we were lucky in that she was of sound mind)because I understood how traumatic it was for many reasons.

I have, however, seen families where people totally bulldoze the relatives and just toss, take and sell off stuff with no regard to the person’s feelings, etc. It’s thoughtless and cruel and actual abuse.

Yea, it can be tough negotiating with a relative and getting them to accept, but NO ONE should have their stuff treated without respect (we’re NOT talking here about hoarders and people whose homes are safety hazards, etc. That’s a different story.)

FYI: If you own things that you want passed on or otherwise have a clear idea of what you want done with them, make sure they are in a will!

That applies to all of us regular folks and not just those with money and big $ stuff. I’ve seen families end up not speaking because people either did not leave instructions or they were ignored. Sentimental value is something you can never underestimate.

Kind of a clutter version of the amihotornot meme. Denizens of the net get to play Roman Emperor on your crap.