Misadventures of a Pack Rat, Day 2

I cleaned out the clothes boxes I keep under my bed yesterday and filled a bag with nine summer tops, four pairs of pants, a swim suit wrap and two sweaters from my closet.  I was able to condense everything that was left from the two boxes down into one.  I know I probably could have taken out more but I’m pleased with what I was able to let go of today.   It’s a start and I feel encouraged enough to continue on.

Next, I decide to begin cleaning out the drawers to my nightstand.   There is a large stack of greeting cards, some are from birthdays and anniversaries.  Other ones are sympathy cards from friends.  As I have said before I get emotionally attached to stuff so this one is a little tough.  I sit and open each card to read them again and the memories come flooding in, some happy, some sad. I do put some into the purge pile.  However, I choose to keep a stack which I will put into a box to store for the time being.  

Now that the cards are put away what else is in this drawer? This is how my mind works as I begin the sorting process. I see a long wooden back scratcher that says it’s from the local sewer company.  Hmmmm… it must have been free as I don’t think I would spend money on a back scratcher.  Of course, I do have this distant memory of cute metal back scratchers that looked like little bear claws. I think they might have ended up in Christmas stockings one year so maybe I would.  The question is …do I need a back scratcher?  I can probably live without one.  Into the bag it goes.

I pull these ribbon bookmarks out of the drawer.  A lady from our church made them to bring to a women’s retreat a few years ago.  There was a big box of them so I chose to take a dozen or more with the idea of giving them to the girls I work with at school.  Somehow that never happened.  Should I keep them?  I already have several of them placed in different books around the house.  I know!  I will give them to the ladies at my book club!  Ok, good.  But…what if there are more than 4 ladies at book club?  That wouldn’t work, so, into the bag they go.  Whew!  At this rate it’s going to take a week to get through just one drawer!  I keep going.  Three pairs of sunglasses quickly end up in the bag. Wait! No, maybe I had better ask if they belong to someone first.. I take them back out of the bag.

A metal washer I sponge painted and hung on a string as a craft idea for the children’s program at church last year.  The kids wrote their names on them and wore them as name tags. Cute, but I really don’t need to save that.

I am making progress and then…Uh Oh!  Notebooks!  Notebooks are going to be a killer.  I never know what I am going to find in a notebook.  I open the first one.  It’s the beginnings of a journal started in September 2011.  The first entry talks about my need to sort through my stuff and begin to simplify my life.  I notice there are only 5 days of journal entries before it stops.  Oh dear!  It looks like not very much has changed since then. However, it does go to show how long this has been bothering me. 

 Another notebook contains some recipes I thought I would try one day, lists of things to do, a note to call my middle brother who has since passed away, disorganized glimpses into my life.  What do I do with these things?  Do I keep them or let them go?  Do they keep me from moving forward or are they anchors to who I am?  For now I close them and place them back into the drawer.  Eventually, one drawer is empty and the other is about half full.  I am not ready to let go of any more than that right now and it's OK. I am at peace with what I have done so far.  Tomorrow is another day.