29 Feb March at Experienced Goods
By Jennie Reichman
Well, I’ve finally joined the club. After 4 years of avoiding being infected with Covid-19, I came down with it in mid-February. It all started with gastro-intestinal distress, symptoms I’ve never associated with Covid, and after 24 hours of that I decided to test myself and encountered that disappointing solid pink line. It progressed to what amounted to mild cold-like symptoms and the tell-tale losses of taste and smell. Needless to say, I didn’t go to work and was essentially stuck at home for 10 days, testing over and over and hoping for a negative result. Since I didn’t feel all that bad and couldn’t leave the house, I did the obvious: Cleaned closets! It all started with a desire to organize years of paid bill stubs I keep in a box in “that closet”, the one everyone has into which all the uncategorizable detritus gets thrown. I call it the “I’ll deal with it later closet.”
What started as simple organizing of paperwork turned into a full-scale hoe out and took several hours, but in the process I excavated what amounted to layers of my life: boxes of CDs of my original music, an old banjo belonging to my ex-husband, writing and keepsakes dating back to before high school, several small space heaters, a folder containing the mortgage and deed paperwork to the house and accompanying acreage I grew up on and that my parents purchased in 1960 for $14,000. A book of children’s lullabies I remember my mother singing to me. Artwork encased in bubble wrap I inherited from my mother and that I want to have appraised. A packet of photos taken by my friend Rebecca when she and her then-2-year-old daughter came to Vermont for my second wedding in 1996. When I was done, I gazed into an almost empty closet and felt like I had slain a dragon. Take that, scary closet! Some of what I found will be coming to Experienced Goods (the heaters and the banjo), but the greatest gifts were the reminders that who I am is built on who I’ve been, how I treasure that younger me with her idealism, determination and confidence, and the people who’ve been with me on the journey.
Is there a closet (or a few) like that in your house? I highly recommend the exploratory clean out. Not only does it result in a great sense of accomplishment, but a lot of what you find in there and are unlikely to use again would be happily accepted at Experienced Goods. Early spring is always a slightly slower time at the shop in terms of donations, so clean, sellable housewares, clothing, books, jewelry, linens and small furniture would be more than welcome.
Speaking of spring and its glorious colors, come check out the clothing racks! We have been opening boxes of spring clothes that have been packed away all winter, and the hues and fabrics are truly a balm for the eyes and body. Remember linen and cotton? Sneakers and slip-ons? Goodbye, wool sweaters and snow boots, time to make way for the ease of lighter dressing. And yes, I know, it’s only March, and March is that historically snowiest of months, and then there’s mud season to keep us humble, so don’t pack away the winter gear just yet. But indulge your dreams of spring, summer, gardening, hiking, kayaking, with some new-to-you spring clothes. And in the housewares department we have a whole barnyard’s worth of ceramic and plush bunnies, chicks, ducks and other adorable spring creatures and plenty of pastel colored Easter décor. Remember that in some parts of the country, daffodils are already blooming, and soon will be here as well, and before long, maple sap will be running. Those plumes of steam from sugar houses mean we’ve made it through another winter and trees are preparing to dress up in their green summer clothes. You should, too! Happy Spring!!