those little things I'll never get rid of

I am still embracing "decluttering" and continue to sort boxes, trying to be as sensible as I

can about what to keep, what to sell on eBay, and what to give away to charity.

I have to admit that to my shame I have found so many things (mainly clothes, but homewares too) that have never been used or worn, and still have the labels on. We have made

a few trips to the council dump and it always makes me sad - as a society we wouldn't have to get rid of so much stuff if we didn't buy so much in the first place. I have been trying to

very consciously shop as a result of this - however I think we all start out with similar good intentions and somehow they go astray.

While I am definitely not a hoarder (that role is reserved for the man of the house - I have to sneak stuff out to Vinnies in the dark of night so he doesn't object), there are just a few little things I can never get rid of - they mean something to me.

this little mouse husband and wife - only about 2 cm high - were originally bought in Munich when I

was a teenager. I had a "Setzkasten" - a German tradition, a little flat wooden house with lots of little rooms or compartment, and which is mounted on the wall. It is designed to show off little treasures or ornaments. I no longer have the Setzkasten, but this little pair have accompanied me through my adult life, and even though they have suffered with the travelling (they have both lost ears, and Mr. Mouse has lost the top of his top hat), I still love them and they have found a new home in the

old girl.

this pink and grey mouse came into my life when I was about 9 or 10.

When I was at school in Glasgow, the mother of one of my friends had lost

a child many years earlier to leukaemia. Every year she held a big fundraising event for Leukaemia, and my Mum always drafted me into selling raffle tickets. I remember not

understanding as a young child why this event was organised every year and why such a fuss was made about it - and of course I would have grumbled to my Mum about raffle ticket duties. Now as an adult and a mother, I can of course understand why losing a child for whaetever reason is life changing and devastating - and I look back and admire the reslience of that mother in using her grief to make a difference. It was at one of these fundraisers that I acquired this mouse who was christened "Daddy Long Legs" - how I loved him (yes, a "He" despite the pink). I can't bring myself to give him away to charity, so he remains

in the household too.

I suspect that even the most ruthless declutterer would have one or two little things that are close to the heart, and while serving no practical purpose, these are what makes a house a home.

♥