Just needed to be heard for a little while

Pyxis

I must admit, that when I do start to declutter, it does feel good!

However, things like schoolbooks are a no-go area. I do find throwing them away hard to understand, but everyone's different!
The trouble is, I keep thinking that any grandchildren I might have one day would probably find things like that fascinating, so from that point of view, I keep things.

I would just love to see some schoolbooks of my mother or father! Let alone my grandparents!

While clearing out my father's house, I found some old receipts of his and of my grandfather's. They were just receipts of odd things, but were in the old-fashioned typefaces, with ink handwriting and, do you remember these?, a 1d stamp to authenticate them! Dated in the '30s. It's social history! There are only a few, but I've kept them.

It's hard to think that a modern receipt will be so fascinating in 70 years' time, but I bet it will!

I've kept a lot of social history stuff for 'grandchildren'..........newspapers of each momentous event in British or World history, (Royal Weddings, 11/9, 7/7, London Olympics etc.).
Also a few samples of Christmas cards each year.....not many , 4or5 that might be typical......to show the changes in designs over the years. I found some old cards from the '50s, and they're so different!
I'd love to have some from the '30s or '40s!

Edit 7DW, I'm not quite as bad as that, but I can understand it. But I can't explain it. Some of it might simply be that stuff has spread from elsewhere. In tidying up other rooms, some things may have been put temporarily in there, and just stayed.
I feel I'd like another room just so that I'd have the space to go through boxes and sort them and rationalise things.

seven-day-weekend

I also throw things away. Since we decluttered before we went to live in Spain, I hate not knowing what I've got and where it is.

Pyxis

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I also throw things away. Since we decluttered before we went to live in Spain, I hate not knowing what I've got and where it is.

^^^^^^^ soooo this!
I know I have things, and I do know where some things are, but because they're in a box at the bottom of a pile of boxes, I can't get at them. Other things I know I have, but am not sure where.

That makes me feel ill. I hate it. Physically I can't lug boxes any more, and there's no space to spread them about anyway. Plus I've had so much minor illness, that a lot of the time I'm not up to it anyway. Aaaaargh!


But something's got to give!! I need work done on the house, and there's no way with all this stuff! (Hence the unlaid stair carpet, JM!)


Edit.WaS, your boxes of great mystery declutter are an inspiration! If you can do it, I must be able to!!!

tea_lover

I like decluttering once I get going, but I find getting going incredibly hard. I really need to sort my clothes out. I'm sure at least half of what I've got could go. Then I'd actually have space to be able to see the things I do wear. Keep saying I'm going to get around to it but it's not happening.

Stay safe in the bad weather code. We now have weather warnings for snow, wind and ice from this evening until the end of the week.
Penguin
Just what we need when there's a funeral to go to on Thursday. That's if the inquest this afternoon even says we can go ahead. Will be glad when this week's over.
End penguin.

heartbreak_star

I kept my father's old driving license - it's in a proper old leather wallet embossed with "Driving Papers" and his initials!! - but got rid of pretty much everything else.

At the moment there is an empty cardboard box in our living room, it was from an Amazon delivery and I need to briefly keep it in case the item goes wrong (first one did and this is a replacement) and it's annoying me unreasonably!

Funny thing is, I was the messiest kid ever...

EDIT: Hugs to you, tea.

HBS x

codemonkey

Reply penguin for tea

DH's grandda died during the winter of 2010 when the snow was thigh deep and it was -18° and all the m8 was closed and we were worried the funeral wouldn't be able to go ahead because it was a burial but they managed

End penguin (((tea)))

seven-day-weekend

Pyxis wrote: »

I must admit, that when I do start to declutter, it does feel good!

However, things like schoolbooks are a no-go area. I do find throwing them away hard to understand, but everyone's different!
The trouble is, I keep thinking that any grandchildren I might have one day would probably find things like that fascinating, so from that point of view, I keep things.

I would just love to see some schoolbooks of my mother or father! Let alone my grandparents!

While clearing out my father's house, I found some old receipts of his and of my grandfather's. They were just receipts of odd things, but were in the old-fashioned typefaces, with ink handwriting and, do you remember these?, a 1d stamp to authenticate them! Dated in the '30s. It's social history! There are only a few, but I've kept them.

It's hard to think that a modern receipt will be so fascinating in 70 years' time, but I bet it will!

I've kept a lot of social history stuff for 'grandchildren'..........newspapers of each momentous event in British or World history, (Royal Weddings, 11/9, 7/7, London Olympics etc.).
Also a few samples of Christmas cards each year.....not many , 4or5 that might be typical......to show the changes in designs over the years. I found some old cards from the '50s, and they're so different!
I'd love to have some from the '30s or '40s!

Edit 7DW, I'm not quite as bad as that, but I can understand it. But I can't explain it. Some of it might simply be that stuff has spread from elsewhere. In tidying up other rooms, some things may have been put temporarily in there, and just stayed.
I feel I'd like another room just so that I'd have the space to go through boxes and sort them and rationalise things.

Thank you for replying to my query, Pyxis.

I'm the opposite, I never keep any cards, have thrown away all my Uni essays. I do keep (some) photographs, not all by any means.

I do keep things like jiffy bags and gift bags and re-use them. I store things like lightbulbs so that I am never without a spare of each fitting, and also batteries of each type for the appliances that we have (so there is always a spare for my smoke alarms! ). I also tend to keep official documents, bank statements and financial stuff for five years.

We all have things we consider important, to me my uni essays do not fall into that category My son would not have the slightest interest.

Pyxis

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Thank you for replying to my query, Pyxis.


We all have things we consider important, to me my uni essays do not fall into that category My son would not have the slightest interest.

Maybe not Uni essays, but primary school exercise books? And ditto from age 11 to 16?
They chart ones own development, and it's so sweet to see handwriting and teachers' comments! :rotfl:
Children might not be interested until they have children of their own , then they might. And grandchildren might. That's the rationale behind my thinking, plus the thought that I'd love to have some of my parents' schoolbooks! If nothing else, they would chart the differences in teaching methods!
Of course, I wouldn't keep absolutely everything!


I know, I know, I'm justifying my hoarding, but to be honest, all that sentimental stuff is only a small part of the total Stuff.

Pyxis

Changing the subject a tad, (well, a lot, really!), I've just had my first ukelele lesson!

codemonkey

I have a memory box where I keep things that are important to me - like some photos of my grandparents, my grandad's watch, things from pets that are no longer here, small gifts from friends etc and in there I have the first birthday card I got from DH and he bought me a little fruit cake in a box so I kept that too. He brought these along on our first date because it was just after my birthday. I also have a box from our wedding with my tiara and a pressed buttonhole and invitations and my garter, shoes and veil. I'd hoped to share these with a daughter but that wasn't to be.

Uni work is all gone except for my dissertations, which I kept. We seem to have random piles of paperwork which need to be dealt with and I have far too many shoes.

My desk at work is incredibly tidy and neat but at home I'm like a Tasmanian devil, leaving a trail of mess in my wake. My excuse is that I'd rather cuddle dumbass dog than clean.