This week's topic on ToT: Clutter or keepsake? How do you determine what is a precious keepsake and what can be thrown away? This topic was my idea because I know personally, it's something that I struggle with on a daily basis. Yes, on a daily basis. Everyday my son comes home from school with a different paper or art project. I have to try to decide if it's something that I should keep or if I should pitch it. The pack rat in me wants to hang on to everything, while the other part of me knows realistically if I keep every single paper, I'll be swimming in a house full of school papers by the time my son is in 2nd grade. (Trust me, I already have 1 binder full of "keepers" and the kid has only been in school for 32 days). On a more serious note, my husband and I constantly have this battle. If it were up to him, everything would be pitched into the recycle bin. If it were up to me, we would need an extra large storage unit because I can't seem to part with anything.
I really think the pack rat trait is a "gene" that is passed down from generation to generation. My great-grandmother was notorious for keeping everything. I think it stemmed from the depression era when they had to keep all that they had, and use it in creative ways just to get by. My grandmother definitely has this gene. She holds on to all kinds of things, and she passed the gene onto my dad, and that's how I got it. I think I'm in double trouble because my mother also has a house full of "treasures." Here is the scary part: most of my mom's "treasures" are actually my old school awards, papers, notebooks, text books, and memorabilia in general. She has recently decided to "clean things out" which basically means finding all of my junk and giving it back to me. Eek! What's a girl to do? Is it possible to make your high school letter jacket trendy? I doubt it. Now I have my old stuff from the past, and all of these "precious items" from my present creeping in on me. I can't even think of what the future may hold. I need to figure out some sort of "keepsake quality control system" before I risk turning into Ms. Havisham from "Great Expectations."
Breathe....
Now that we (yes, we are a team now reader, I've sucked you into my warped reality) know I'm not the best at letting go of things, I have to bear in mind, that these are just things. Yes, they may help me to remember a special moment with a loved one, or bring back cherished memories, but they are not the memories themselves. I will always have those. I really have been working on letting go of things and holding on to memories and feelings. If I know there is something that is particularly special to me, but that I don't want to keep anymore, then I will take a picture said item, and donate it. For some reason, it always makes me feel better if I know that something that was special to me, is getting a second life, and could be special to someone else. A good example of this was the collection of Eeyore stuffed animals and figurines I just sold in our garage sale. It nearly killed me to put every single one of those Eeyores out there. (Plus my first ever Cabbage Patch Kid doll, Carla Jean.) I almost held two particularly "special" Eeyores back, but I didn't. First, I thought about how those little guys had been living an a trash bag in my mom's basement for a long time, which made me sad. Second, I thought about how they might make some other kid, or heck, even grown up smile. Third, I knew there was no place in my current life for these past treasures. My kids are not the least bit interested in Eeyore (believe me, I've tried). Plus, they have their own beloved stuffed animals that they will one day have to part with-they don't need my baggage too. So, although I may have shed a tear (literally!) when my favorite Eeyores and Carla Jean all sold to the same person for a mere dollar, I believe I have learned a priceless lesson in letting go.*
This is all still a work in progress, and will most likely continue to be something I constantly struggle with, but I think I'm at least making some sort of headway. Now, how do you determine keepsake or clutter? I'm looking for some good advice. Also, check out how the other ToT ladies keep things tidy.
*My husband is probably reading this and smirking as he's looking at the growing pile of papers and greeting cards laying on my desk and kitchen counter. I do have a plan for those, honey, don't worry. I got a great idea from a friend. She collects all of her son's school papers through out the year. At the end of the year she saves the best 10-20 and puts them in a binder. I plan on doing that and then making some kind of cool binder or hope chest for each of my kids. I saw that gift on Oprah once and thought it was so cool.
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