Over the last couple of weeks I've started to have a bit of a spring clean / de-clutter. I've decided it's time to be ruthless and get rid of lots of junk. For those of you who don't know me I have to admit to being a bit of a hoarder. I keep things just in case they might come in handy some time in the next 20 years. The problem is usually when I need something I forget I have it and go out and buy something to do the job, only remembering weeks or months after that I already had something. I am also a sentimental old fool, so the other category of hoarding is things which bring back memories, no matter how obscure these items may be.
The de-cluttering is a slow process, due to me not being on top form at the moment, but I figure it doesn't matter as long as I get there in the end. The first hoarding category is easier to deal with, and I am quite proud of myself that I have been quite successful in getting rid of lots of junk. The second is however much more difficult, and my success in this area has been more limited. Thankfully however on the whole the number of items which fall into this category is much smaller.
I've given myself a good long talking to about the situation and have managed on the whole to be really quite disciplined. I'm a terrible book worm and have hundreds of books, I have also passed this gene onto the teen and she is fast competing with me on this. So we sorted out the first book case, and both got rid of lots of books, me more than her to be fair, although I still have more left than her. But I have been working on my book collection for a lot more years than she has! I have only kept my favourite books and favourite authors, bags and bags of books have gone to the charity shop! Despite this there is still some doubling up going on, but much, much less than before.
We've emptied drawers and bags and bags of rubbish have gone, along with more bags of assorted stuff to the charity shop. I found Easter bonnet making stuff in one drawer, and we last did Easter bonnet making about 7 years ago, see what I mean now. Kept it just in case. Not any longer. I am absolutely positive that at some point over the next few months I will need something and curse myself because I know I'll have thrown it away, but that's a chance I'll have to take. I'm actually quite proud of myself!
One bonus of this has been the memories that doing this has brought back, and sharing some of those memories with the teen. We found my Nan's school photo, which we worked out was taken in 1929. I have sorted through hundreds, in fact probably thousands of photos, which obviously are the source of many memories. Most recently yesterday I found a couple of boxes of several hundred photos, all are from 1995 and before, some of which are nearly 30 years old. I bought some albums, and am in the process of sorting them all out and trying to get them in some sort of order. I have had a quick flick through them all first and have had a lot of smiles and quite a few tears too.
There are photos of so many people that are no longer with us. Photos of people I'd forgotten about. Photos of people who at one time or another were really significant in my life, and photos of people who still are in some way. I also own a scanner, so watch out people, no-one is safe!! Some of the pictures are very strange shapes, this is due to me going on a editing frenzy many years ago, and cutting my ex-husband completely out of my life. There is not one photo of him remaining now. I don't regret doing it either.
I have always been a snapper, always had a reputation for having a camera in my hand and taking lots of pictures. I'm so glad now that I have done that. I have so many good memories, which is really good for a sentimental old fool like me! I have lots more de-cluttering to do, but my photos definitely won't be one of the things that goes. Also when people tell me off in future for taking pictures, I won't listen. I shall explain to them about my walk down memory lane, and how many forgotten memories have been brought back to me by those very photos. So in future when people leave my life, as people do for one reason or another, no-one will ever be completely gone or totally forgotten, as I will have my photos for memories.
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