Necessity or Not?

This morning as I sit in my kitchen, I am starting a pile of rocks. I'm not kidding. I am thinking and can't come to a decision.

I am still (yes, still) decluttering our house and then packing up what I have decided to keep. This feels like such a long process since I'm doing this all alone. My husband is already working out of state and my kids are of little help outside of moving some boxes and packing up some of their own stuff.

About ten years ago I took a cue from Waldorf education's "nature table". The nature table was a small area where kids would put nature items they found while out in nature. This table was seasonal and would easily be changed over four times a year. In my version, first one, then later two shelves of the hutch in my kitchen were where we'd put nature items. Here you will find driftwood, rocks, bird feathers, leaves, seed pods and anything else the kids (or I) insisted on keeping. (I added an extra category for sea glass.)

When the rocks got to be messy piles I changed to use clear glass kitchen canisters, the type that five and dime stores would sell penny candy in. I sorted the rocks by color and turned the canister sideways so there was a nice view of the rocks. This looked pretty decent if you ask me.

As we prepare to move I am wondering if we should take all these rocks with us or just some? Do I need all those seashells? Since moving costs 60 cents a pound, I'm wondering how much these free rocks will cost us in the end.

There are memories attached to these items. I recognize some from one of my favorite places in the world, South Branch Pond in Maine. Others were found while scouring beaches on Cape Cod. Most of the sea glass is from the Long Island Sound beach that is steps away from my paternal grandmother's home. Each one was collected after walking there while I was visiting her. There are feathers from the pair of red shouldered hawks that live in these woods, and some from the catbird whose song I loved to hear many times a day, that sadly met its death at the hands of one of the neighborhood's feral cats. Finding that pile of feathers one autumn made me weep.

I got to thinking about what humans need for survival versus what is unnecessary that we have. That has been useful in helping me get rid of extra stuff that truly I don't need. Taking this further I was thinking about home decor and how necessary is it really? The nature items could be said to be home decor but they are also associated with memories. A number of other things I have around my home are the same way. Some artwork are scenes of places I know and love. My grandmother's antique iron adorns one of my bureaus. These things have meaning for me.

Home decor items are not necessary, that's clear, but decorative items enhance life and somehow add meaning and flavor to our days. This is the same discussion as what is the meaning or necessity of art in general? What purpose does music have? Do we need to be entertained by these things? How necessary really are these things to our lives? What kind of quality of life do we have if we are so stripped down of possessions and only focus on sheer necessity and just surviving?

I'm taking the rocks with me. And the shells. And the feathers. Period.