Fredericton — With spring officially upon us, Maritime moms are wondering if you’d like to have that carrot peeler your grandmother left you in her will, a half-full pack of AAA batteries, or maybe a few extra clothespins she’s had lying around for ages.
“I’m not sure if you’d have any use for these TV trays or not,” said Fredericton mom Sherry Corey. “The legs are broken on two of them, but I’m sure if you Duct Tape them they’ll be salvageable. You’re welcome to take this box of baking soda, too. It’s been in the fridge for I don’t know how long.”
As moms wipe down windows and walls, put winter clothes into storage, and mop places you didn’t know could be mopped, they’re also clearing space for anything they might acquire this year — and that means you’ll have dibs on any partially used and long-forgotten childhood memorabilia.
“I had all my kids come over on the weekend for dinner, and I let them take whatever wasn’t nailed down,” said Dartmouth mom Donna Ogilvie, gesturing toward a cardboard box containing mostly outdated electronics.
“I tried to interest one of them in these old VHS tapes. There were some good ones there, too — we had The Goonies, Mighty Ducks, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York — all the classics. I couldn’t find the VCR or the rewinder, but I’m sure they could buy one at Walmart. I don’t know why I had no takers.”
Charlottetown mother Fran McIntyre said this year she’s cleaning her home more thoroughly than ever, and her adult children are scheduled to come by this week and take any items she does not need or want.
“There’s quite an assortment of things,” she said while dusting the top of the fridge. “I’ve got some clothes hangers, half a roll of Christmas wrapping paper, a pair of overalls I’m fairly certain one of the kids used to wear, a chipped mixing bowl, and a cookbook from 1968. Let them fight over the stuff.”
At press time, our reporter’s mom was trying to give away the family cat, as “she just sits there all day collecting dust.”