My first flower bouquet–from my dad on my 8th birthday–and a silhouette of my great-grandmother
It’s actually kind of sweet, because–bless his heart–he’s just so darn sentimental about his childhood treasures (his phrase) and other relics of the past.
But, he’s also sentimental about my ”childhood treasures.”
When each of our 11 moves afforded an opportunity to purge our home of unnecessary things, we would inevitably have a conversation along these lines:
Hubs: “You’re not throwing THAT away, are you?”
Me: “Well I don’t see myself needing a [embarrassingly bad] painting from a 5th grade poster contest anytime soon. Do you?”
Hubs: “Oh, but you did it. It’s great! We have to keep it. It’s about the memories.”
Me: “Seriously?”
I have to confess that in my hoarder-phobia, instead of honoring my dear husband’s request, I threw the poster (along with some other choice junk) in the trunk of our car. On our next run to the apartment complex dumpster, Hubs hopped out to dispose of our garbage .
And…the poster fell at his feet.
Sigh. I was outed and again the proud owner of a laminated copy of “Autumn on the Lake,” a depiction of scary bird-like creatures hovering over a watery blob.
Our world map, with colored-coded pins for places we’ve been together and homes of people we love
An Alternative to Hoarding/Extreme Purging
My new bottom line for old junk is this: decide on a reasonable amount of memorabilia to box up and keep for posterity.
Trash or frame the rest.
That’s right. If it’s meaningful enough to keep, you might as well slap some wood and glass around that puppy and call it art.
Rather than letting it collect dust or mouse droppings in the basement, put it on display. So you can actually enjoy it.
What I like to frame
- Invitations & save the dates
- Maps
- Pressed flowers and leaves
- Kids’ artwork (no, “Autumn on the Lake” will not be debuting in our home anytime soon)
- Special notes
- Memorabilia relating to important events like births
- Any other meaningful trinkets that will fit in a shadow box
My childhood home in Virginia and clovers picked in Ireland
Because Fall trumps all other seasons
Framed piece in the upper left is the email I wrote from the hospital to friends and family, 2 hours after birthing the Buckaroo
Here’s to shadow boxes or the Salvation Army…whichever you prefer.
What memorabilia could you slap a frame on?
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