TIme Capsule 1--Confronting My History in the Wardrobe Trunk

The wardrobe trunk is the kind that people used on ocean voyages back in the day when it was customary to dress for dinner.  In my childhood we took two such trips to spend the summer in England, the land of my birth. I believe this trunk accompanied us on those trips. It is brown, of less depth than a steamer trunk, and adorned with Cunard Line Steamship labels. 

I packed up this trunk with mementos the summer I was twenty, prior to my parents’ permanent move back to England upon my father’s retirement. (Unlike many of my friends, I couldn’t count on leaving my precious, but unneeded, possessions in my family home while I settled into my adult life.) For many years, the trunk resided in storage in Delaware until the storage company announced it was closing. I brought it back, along with a number of other mystery boxes, to my own house sometime in the early 90s. It accompanied me on my next move to my current house, where I deposited it in the back room of of the basement.

On several occasions, I’d peered into this trunk, which contained neatly labeled boxes of various sizes, all perfectly fitted in the allotted space. (I guess I was a little OCD even back then.) Finally, about three years ago, I was determined to empty it of its contents. As predicted, the smell of must wafted up upon opening.

I discovered a big box of old school papers, including the first real short story I ever wrote, neatly typed (favorite high school assignment); report cards (some with colored stars instead of grades); my high school diploma; a box of handkerchiefs given to me as gifts (mostly unused; some still with pins holding them together in a pleasing display); a Beatrix Potter cup, bowl, and saucer from my babyhood (adorable and in great condition!); a box of old coins (a feeble and short-lived hobby), most of them probably not worth anything; a collection of labels from clothes,  with their 50s and 60s graphics (I am a sucker for good graphics); two photo albums from childhood trips (including my first vacation near a beach at age five); a huge portfolio of early drawings (many of which are like graphic novels without words); and the one and only oil painting I ever made (completed at age 12).

Activities:

• I washed and ironed the handkerchiefs.
• I framed the oil painting and hung it up (it wasn’t bad!)
• I displayed the Beatrix Potter items on my desk.
• I aired out all the school papers, report cards, childhood drawings, and clothing labels, took some photos of scrap book projects and then threw them away, and filed all the rest in one of the file cabinet drawers I’d emptied of work papers, to be dealt with at another time.
• I put the photo albums with my other albums upstairs.
• I put the coins and the diploma (still in its box) on a shelf in one of the front basement rooms.

Possible next steps:

• Give away the handkerchiefs, or maybe incorporate them in a fabric collage. Or I could go greener and use them instead of paper tissues, if I don’t mind hankies with pictures of teddy bears and baby bunnies.
• Sort through school papers and scan a few of the better ones (especially the short story); toss the others.
• Use the labels in a collage. Maybe some of the report cards too, particularly the ones with the gold stars?
• Pick out the best of the childhood drawings and put them in a scrapbook, take photos of some of the others. Consider keeping them all and enjoy them in my dotage, should I be lucky enough to get to that stage.
• Find a coin dealer for the one set that might be worth something and give the rest away.
• Get rid of the trunk? Worth something? Do I care?

Value: The overall task wasn’t as scary, nor even as time consuming, as I thought it would be, and it was a relief to empty the trunk. The drawings, the albums, and the school papers were positive reminders of childhood. (I was a good student, could draw, and had a lively imagination.)

Tips : In a musty space, wear a surgical mask (available at your local pharmacy) and gloves when handling musty items.

And then, to rid items of their smells. 

• For fabric items, use Oxiclean in addition to the laundry detergent. (If you want to go greener, use a cup of vinegar, and if that isn’t sufficient, run the load with a cup of baking soda.)
• For papers and magazines, liberally layer fabric softener sheets between the layers and leave for several weeks out in the open.
• For books, put a layer of cat litter in the bottom of a top and then put another top or box on top with the books. Cover and leave for at a couple of months. This one worked okay, but wasn’t brilliant.

Also—

• In a slow downsize, concentrate on moving items through to another stage rather than going through each and every one (such as school papers) as the task will seem daunting. This goes totally against the time management principle of handling each item just once. The major takeaway is there is no one right way!