Carrie Bickmore on why clutter can be good
“My mum kept everything we made growing up. Every piece of artwork, writing, costume or card,” writes The Project’s Carrie Bickmore. “But our desire to Marie Kondo the bejesus out of our homes means we’re losing memories.”
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My mum kept everything we made growing up. Every piece of artwork, writing, costume, or card. Everything collected.
She was a teacher, so she was overly interested in my scribble. Anything that slightly resembled a word was filed away. Even now, she says with pride, I was “an early writer”. (To be honest, I’ve seen these so-called early words I was writing and I can’t see “cat” no matter which way I rotate the page.)
But at least I have these boxes of random nostalgia to look through, delivered every few years when Mum wants to free up another cupboard in her house.
It wasn’t just schoolwork she kept. Grow out of a pair of sneakers and she’d save the laces. Buttons, boxes, cans, old clothes, screws, decorations, catalogues.
Everything thrown in a box. Not in a hoarding kind of way, but in a “never know when you might need it” kind of way. And she was right.
“Mum, the button on my jacket fell off. Mum, I need something to store my stone collection in. Mum, how do I make a galaxy installation?”
Whatever the dilemma, she had a solution. It was just a matter of finding the right box in the right cupboard. We lived in the hills and had to be pretty resourceful.
It was also a time when there was a cupboard for everything. Spare rooms, attics and sheds to throw stuff in. Our homes are different now, storage is hard to come by.
As an adult, I hate clutter – I find “stuff” overwhelming. I feel sorry for my kids; if they don’t touch a toy for a month, it’s handed down to a friend.
Between the washing, the dirty dishes and the sports equipment strewn all over the house, it’s impossible to find a neat space. There is just so much stuff.
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I started saving only two or three art pieces per kid per year, as the volume of A3 collages coming through the door was unsustainable.
But our desire to Marie Kondo the bejesus out of our homes means we’re losing memories. Sure, school creations stuck to the side of the fridge doesn’t make for as stylish a pic on Insta, but it’s where the character lies. The clutter may not bring us joy now, but it’ll mean so much more in years to come.
Just last week, Mum brought over an old box of my Year 5 goodies. It had some terrible poetry in it, a story about cars that could talk (I will be seeking royalties from Pixar), a VHS of my Rock Eisteddfod and some incredibly personal reflections of tough family things happening at the time.
I cried but also laughed reading my school report while holding my first ever pointe shoes. Mum had kept them, too.
What will we have for our kids in 30 years’ time? A couple of USBs and a cloud full of photos we can’t remember the password for.
Carrie co-hosts The Project, 6.30pm weeknights on Network 10, and Carrie & Tommy, 3pm weekdays on the Hit Network.