Four More Friend Boxes

A couple weekends ago I went to the storage unit.  Usually I avoid it in the winter because water flows to the walkways and turns to ice, which of course is tricky to walk on, especially if I am carrying something heavy.  This time half the parking area and all the walks were coated in thick ice.  The snow had been removed, but still very slippery.  I went there to bring back a small bookshelf.  I also grabbed four of the boxes which belonged to the friend that disappeared and may one day return.  At first glance they appeared to have kitchen stuff in them, which I thought would be easy to sort through and donate.

Today I cleared the bed to use as a workspace, set up a card table, and opened them up.  Right now I’m midway through the third one, just looking at what’s inside, but I had to stop.  My objective is to reduce volume of stuff by getting rid of the “junk” and keeping only what (in my judgment) he might think has true personal value.  About 80% of this is guesswork, and I may be guessing wrong.  But I have to do this because I want to stop renting the storage unit and I have no place to put all these boxes.

There were some drinking glasses, bowls, and trays (the kitchen stuff).  Mostly it was small miscellaneous items.  He’s a packrat too, and I’m at a loss over these things.  A couple obvious keepers, like a silver tray, antique opera glasses with an handwritten note from a relative, medals, family photos.  Some “merchandise” still in the package like small toys, games, fancy pens.  Souvenirs from vacation trips.  Old measuring tools. And so forth.

Now I’m at the point where I want to shove it all back in the boxes.  It’s too much to deal with, and the musty smell is starting to make me feel sick.  I have to get this off the bed where I sleep before the sheets absorb the odor.  Organizing my own stuff is hard enough, doing it for someone else seems impossible.  I wish he could advise me on what to keep, but… I know he would want to keep everything.