Public and Private Places in Your Home

I once read that things in your home are superfluous if they don't have particular meaning to you. I have tried to take that advice to heart:  in my livingroom, the items on display on my large coffee table and on the end tables are special gifts, items that I have purchased at a particularly memorable time and place, family photo albums and books published by my daughter-in-law and son. Of course, you have to make allowances for the things that add a decorative touch or bring some kind of union (in color or shape or kind) into the chaos.    

On my bedroom dresser, there is an oval mirror (a wedding gift from 1964) that displays special little decorative things, each with a special meaning or message.

These are my "public spaces."  If people inquire as to the item or its origin, I'm happy to explain.

Now, let's go to the "private" places.  In the movies, there are frequent scenes depicting a house guest who is in the bathroom, opening up the medicine cabinet to quell his/her curiosity about their hosts or to look for an aspirin, antacid or band-aid.   In my book, these are violations of privacy; something we may suspect happens, but don't necessarily take that seriously.

If you have a nightstand with a drawer in it, open it.  You  may be quite surprised.  I decided to do just that today and was surprised by what the contents reveal about me:  "Snore Relief",  a leg cramps supplement, Tylenol PM, nail files, yellow markers, a collection of paper clips, a plastic dog my kids had many years ago, a collection of buttons that go with clothing long discarded, an old hand brace for dealing with tennis elbow, a note from a friend written in 1984 and ahem, some things even too private to mention.   

While I felt surprised, I shouldn't have.  As both a senior move manager and a geriatric case manager,  I have come across this same thing time and again-nightstand drawers with the most personal of things, some ancient and faded, others still necessary to get you through the night. 

It's up to you:  are you interested in discarding some of this stuff or at some level, is your nightstand drawer still one of your most private places.  Mine is.