Retirement is a week filled with Saturdays and Sundays interrupted only occasionally by a holiday.

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Friday, February 2, 2007

Clean Sweeping, Part III

So today was another trip to our storage unit for another foray back in time. Again we found several boxes of old Road and Track magazines (will they never end) but most of today’s boxes and the mysterious locked footlocker revealed much of my long ago collection of giraffe stuff…art work, mugs, statues, candles, stationery…you name it…anything and everything with an image of a giraffe. Well…I am of a mind to dispose of all this clutter (I’m so proud of myself) but my husband is having a harder time parting with it because it reminds him of our first years together when he decided a giraffe collection was just what I needed…don’t ask why. Anyway, to appease him and not hurt his feelings, I’ve decided to keep many of the nicer items in the footlocker and eventually take it to the new storage unit we will rent closer to home…where it will remain for another 25 years…sigh.

Along with all this "stuff," I found one box that had something from my way-back past. It was a large photo album which had birthday cards, Valentine's Day cards, letters and poetry written by two of my former boyfriends...and when I say former, I mean former. My husband and I have been together for 24 years so we're talking old, yellowed documents...talk about a trip down memory lane! Well, that trip was short-lived since everything in the album has now been shredded and the album thrown away. My husband was surprised that I wanted to dispose of these mementos but I am trying soooo hard not to hang onto things that have no purpose and, since I haven't seen this album in 20+ years and I haven't missed it, why keep it????

Oh, one last thing...here’s an exciting update! Computer Whiz called this morning to speak to Hubby. Apparently my “secret” birthday gift, originally scheduled to be shipped mid-February, is actually on its way and is due to arrive on Monday. Oh goody, goody, goody…

3 comments:

Lynn said...

Where is my sister...and what have you done with her????? You're throwing out what??? You're tossing what??? You are definitely on a decluttering binge and easily putting me to shame! Oh whoa is me...now I feel like I just have to get rid of all of MY old cards and letters. Do I really have to shred them???????

Anonymous said...

I really envy you getting rid of stuff. I keep promising myself that I will start dumping but can't bring myself to do it. I am thinking that it will probably take a train to eventually move all my stuff. Heck my moose collection alone will fill a trailer. The only consolation I have is that the two of you get the family stuff. Now let's see the two of you decide which one get's the sewing machine when the time comes.

Anonymous said...

Missus Chica has been helping her beloved sort through the mountain of papers that constitutes his mother's sophisticated pack rat filing system (cue repetitive sighing). Did you know the "guidepost" alone is responsible for most of the deforestation that has occurred in North America? They've been sorting renewal notices that dated back to 1995.