Clutter

I was rummaging through my closet a few weeks ago when it dawned on my how much crap I have. Every last bit of drawer space, hanging space, and storage space is filled, perhaps overflowing. I started going through my stuff and soon found myself on a trip down memory lane. I save everything. I mean everything. It's not so bad now, but when I was younger, every little note passed, memento, ticket stub, etc held some sort of significance to me, so I kept them. First in a little tin box from Sanrio (I was 12, ok?!), then I upgraded to a shoe box, and finally to a large plastic crate which rests in the top shelf of my closet. I read some notes that my BFF Lauren and I passed throughout Jr High and High School and man, first of all, we were dorks, and second of all, I can hardly decipher the code of abbreviations, nick-names given to classmates that I have long forgotten, and inside jokes that riddle the pages of these notes. It's like reading gibberish written by a stranger. This brings something to mind...note passing is probably a thing of the past. Almost every elementary, jr high, and certainly high school kid has a cell phone, and texting is surely the new note passing. But, you can include illustrations in texts, and boy did we like to illustrate all over our notes!
I also found ticket stubs to Austin Powers that we saw in New Jersey, plane ticket stubs and subway ticket stubs from our trip to NY and DC after 8th grade graduation, a brochure for Gaylord Lighthouse Tours from a Martha's Vineyard trip when I was 13 (we couldn't get over the Gaylord part). I kept virtually every plane ticket stub and subway/train/bus/museum ticket for every trip I had ever been on (which is a lot!), and even my old retainer-ew!. I kept every card, love note, print out of IM chats, movie ticket stub, plane ticket stub, graduation flyer, prom invitations, (and even my corsage from my 1st prom) from my first (and only) high school boyfriend.
More digging discovered zebra-printed keys (anyone else get designs printed on their house keys?) and a lease contract for my first apartment. In case you were wondering, Megan and Brooke, our move-in date for "Scamdon" was 12/14/2002.
I have another tub full of all my sorority things. Greek week costumes, about a dozen different letters, John's pin that he gave me during a pinning ceremony his last year in college, and a bunch of pictures that never made it to albums due to their content...hehehe
I have a bunch of notes from John from back in college (again, pre-texting) that include several racy comics that he would draw when he was bored in class. I should scan one and post it one of these days-they are quite entertaining!
My goal was to get rid of the "crap" in my closet to make more room. After a couple of hours of sifting, my toss pile contained a few coins and some gum wrappers that had accidentally made it into my tubs, and a giant keep pile that contained everything I started with. I just couldn't part with any of it. The fact that I had saved it all for all these years makes it even harder to part with it all. I think I tend to form attachments to inanimate objects. When I was a younger, I could never get rid of my stuffed animals, even when I outgrew them, because I didn't want to hurt their feelings or make them sad. As ridiculous as it sounds, I am the exact same way today.
So, after my trip down memory lane came to an end, I carefully packed it all back up and put it back on my top shelf. Maybe next time I "clean out" my closet, I'll start with the clothes and shoes. In the meantime, I suppose I'll just continue to be a crazy hoarder!