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The Perils of Collecting Clutter Chronic clutter can lead to amusing revelations for visitors. Joel Dovev, author of “Crap At My Parents’ House,” spun it into a book deal  Image courtesy of Abrams Image Imagine cruising the Internet and suddenly finding a photo of your home décor on a stranger’s website. It could happen, especially if your kids poke fun at those creepy Christmas figurines or that stuffed deer head in the kitchen – that’s what “Crap At My Parents’ House” (Abrams Image, 2011) is all about. Joel Dovev, comedy writer and author of the blog and book, got the idea when he found a bottle of kosher wine in his mother’s basement freezer and a replica pirate ship on her mantle. The blog was launched shortly thereafter, in 2010. Since then, readers have submitted thousands of their own photos of parents’ quirky homes, and Dovev consistently dishes out humorous commentary on each post. “Sometimes it’s just the way a doll looks,” Dovev says of the photos he chooses to feature on the blog. “[The reader] sent me this doll that kind of looked like Ron Paul. I created a ‘Grumpy Dolls that Look Like Ron Paul for Ron Paul’ flier and posted it.” We caught up with Dovev, 29 and now living in New York, to chat about the ramifications of clutter and how his blog about found “crap” has helped propel him to fame. Q: What separates blog-worthy crap from just plain crap? It’s whatever I can write something funny about. Sometimes I’ll have no idea what to say about it for a year – and then it strikes me later. Sometimes it’s immediately funny, like a stuffed deer head with sunglasses – it gets picked up right away. Q: Since that first blog post, have you featured more of your mom’s home décor? Every time I go home, I put on those glasses and look for interesting things. Originally, my mom didn’t like the idea of me taking pictures of things inside her private home, with the sole purpose of distributing it across the Internet. But now she’s super excited about it. She’ll even tell me about things that I might find funny – like, “Look Joel, over there, there’s a bottle of Ajax with sunglasses on!” Q: Have you ever purged clutter at your own house? People say things like, “Real nice, making fun of your parents! What about your house?” To be honest, I’ve always been infatuated with weird stuff. I collect a lot of things, like a Jean-Claude Van Damm poster or commemorative Coca-Cola bottles. I moved in July and realized I had so much stuff that I didn’t need. I threw away or donated 12 bags of clothes and purged everything that I didn’t have an emotional connection to. Q: Why do you think it’s hard for people to get rid of stuff? Most people keep stuff around them because there’s either a purpose or emotional connection. You might keep a weird creepy doll that could be the spawn of Lucifer to most people, but your grandmother gave it to you in the ’30s. Q: Besides a lot of laughs, what other feedback have you gotten about the blog? People who are dealing with their own parents’ passing or moving out of a home have submitted a lot of cool stuff. Seeing the site as therapeutic to them. When either their parents pass or their health is deteriorating, they need to clear out a house where their parents have lived for 50 years. They decide what stays and what goes. It’s hard for the kids, no matter how old they are. When they see this site, they can have a laugh. It’s a horrible dilemma, but seeing the site makes the situation lighter. |
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