Fun With Packrats

Once a year the Geezer and I make a pilgrimage to Liberty Tool in, (where else?) Liberty, Maine. I generally make a circuit of the place in 20 minutes, maybe purchasing some implement to use for weeding in the garden that may have originally been a grapefruit slicer, and then I’m off to buy tee shirts at Liberty Graphics across the street. In that time the Geezer has only advanced 20 feet inside the door. This is like dying and going to heaven for him. I’ve told him that every single item in there is likely the result of some widow calling up and requesting that they come and clean out her husband’s shop. This is also where his stuff will go someday. We allow a long day for this adventure. He can take his time. He knows when he is ready he can find me in the upper stories of the Davistown Museum (above Liberty Graphics) doing historical research.
Enough about him, let’s talk about me. I, too, am a Packrat. Just look inside my refrigerator. I love to cook. My refrigerator is my supply system for things that must be kept cold. My refrigerator is stuffed with potential ingredients, dibs and dabs of leftovers, full of creative potential. Nothing goes to waste in my kitchen. There are seldom rotten or moldy items in the fridge because I frequently do what I call “triage” on the contents. This results in often unheard of combinations in soups, quiches, and casseroles. When I tell the Geezer something strange and untried will show up on his dinner plate, his response is “yummy!” . During almost 48 years of marriage his willingness to be a guinea pig for my experiments has resulted in me becoming an adventurous cook.
Some packrats are decidedly not fun. A whole website is dedicated to Children of Hoarders who tell you about what it was like to grow up in a home with parents who valued their cultch collection more than their children. These are the people who rank on the Clutter-Hoarding Scale in the higher categories and are very difficult to deal with.

Harriet Vaughan

About Harriet Vaughan

I am a Senior Move Manager, working with Senior Citizens and their families when it is time to downsize or just make the home safer and more comfortable for aging in place. I help these people make decisions about what to keep, throw out, donate, or sell. I also offer workshops on "Getting Things Done When You Are Over 60". I write about how to overcome memory lapses and how to use your physical energy well. I have a degree in Home Economics from the University of Maine. I live in Coopers Mills, about 14 miles east of Augusta. I have been married for almost 50 years to my husband, Chuck Vaughan. Our business is called Legacy Years Transition Services.