Amy Scott's Thoughts

I’m the kind of person that likes to go through my stuff on a regular basis. I’m not a fan of clutter. Things really have to prove their purpose to me in order to live in my house. It seems I’m often sorting through closets, drawers, boxes. I love getting lost in a project. I got that joy this afternoon.

It might not look too big, but this pile filled a trash bag!

For someone who gets rid of things pretty easily, there is one thing you’ll find that I tend to store. Cards and mementos! If you sent me a card in the last 6 years, there is a good chance that up until today, I kept it. I have a spot where I place all my cards and once that spot got full, I would put the cards into Ziplock bags and into a box in the garage they would go. My project actually started off by trying to consolidate my photos, but turned into me going through all my cards. I’m happy to say that I got ride of a lot of cards. I kept quite a few, but really only the ones that hold meaning to me. I’ve always had a fondness for cards. If someone took the time to send  it then it lived forever in my house. I hope this is a turning point for me. Can you imagine if I kept this pattern up? It’s like micro-hoarding! My poor future children would one day be moving me into the a nursing home and when they opened my garage they would have found nothing but boxes full of cards. Thank you cards, thinking of you cards, birthday cards, invitations to weddings and baby showers. Here’s hoping I broke the cycle now so I have brighter future ahead of me!

My collection of mementos started around high school. I had a shoe box where I put little things that meant something to me. A movie ticket stub, a program from a show, a napkin, a flower… Little things. Just small tokens that symbolized a special date or time. These small things add up and eventually can take up quiet a bit of space. Now I did get rid of a few mementos, but mainly I just organized them better. These small things might seem insignificant, but each holds a memory. I wonder if I’m really saving these things for a reason. I can picture in my head going through them when I’m old and gray to relive the moments. I can also picture telling my future children why I saved them. However, it’s highly likely that same day they will go into the trash as well so I can continue to make space. Today was not that day for my little friends. They’ve been saved until next time!

Jeremy and I don’t have a ton of storage at our house. It’s important to take time to go through things every now and again. It seems like when you get rid of something, another thing takes it place. If you keep getting and never giving then you’ll run out of space. I don’t want my stuff to overtake me. Just last week I went through my closet after shopping for new clothes. Get new things, give old things. I’ve recently gone through the drawers in my nightstand to make they are tidy and that I’m not holding on to something useless. I also find that time really helps when it comes to getting rid of things. The more distance I put between me and my stuff, the more willing I am to part with it. I really won’t miss it and I’ll be glad for the extra space I create. Plus, I’ll admit that there is something really satisfying when the project is done. That moment for me today was filling a trash bag full of cards and various random objects.  It feels so good!