I am not a hoarder. In fact, I consider myself quite the minimalist. Have been all my life.

Moving in to live with a woman who later became my wife, I arrived with a suitcase half full of clothes and all my other earthly possessions neatly tucked into one cardboard box which I could comfortably carry single-handedly.

I was a light traveller.

Three decades, a string of children, and a zoo and a half full of pets later, my wardrobe has bulged with me. One suitcase will most definitely not do the trick anymore. I’m not sure if I really have more clothes, or whether the clothes I have are just much bigger. But that’s a conversation for another day.

As for the cardboard box, well, that has been replaced with a garage full of boxes. And bags and crates and shelves and lockers and every conceivable item that can be used to store junk in.

The garage I’m talking about is big. Not your standard double door version for the standard family. No, our garage was built to comfortably house four cars. Big ones. And a trailer, my daughter’s scooter and my motorcycle.

When I say the garage has somehow become full of boxes, I mean full. In the war for space, the boxes are up 3-1. Yes, there is parking space for one car only. That’s how bad it has become.

So, I decided, it is time for a good spring-clean in the middle of winter.

I ordered a skip, put on some old work clothes and, with all the best intentions of clearing the clutter, rolled up the doors.

But as it turns out, there’s a lot less junk in that garage than I thought.

What I discovered inside the army of containers is a treasure chest of memories.

How can I get rid of my girls’ first little camping chairs? Or my grandfather’s gas mask from the war?

But the best discovery of the day was a milk crate full of LPs. Doesn’t Neil Diamond just sound 10 times better on vinyl? And the garage is still the best place to dance, even alone.

Maybe this minimalist doesn’t need a spring clean. Maybe he needs more storage space.

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