Memory Clutter--good riddance!!

As I've mentioned before, I have a terrible memory.  Blame it on the wine I've consumed in the last 15 years or maybe on my 2 kids (I never got over pregnancy brain, apparently).  Whatever the reason is that I can't remember anything, I've kept too many things hoping it would trigger some memory of an event that has occurred in my life.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work too well.

I've kept two foot-locker trunks full of crap memorabilia that I am starting to go through and purge.  The tip I gave a few posts ago about giving yourself distance really works.  I've given myself 20+ years distance on a lot of the stuff and can't remember why I kept half of it.  My goal is to condense them into just one trunk.

Remember when we used to pass notes in class, as in the ones written on a piece of paper?  For those of you young folks who only know texts and emails, this is the way we communicated in the old days.  I found at least a dozen shoeboxes full of these notes and discovered that I had the past all wrong.  Maybe I was romanticizing it, but I kind of wish I never opened up that pandora's box, literally.

While I don't remember most of the details of my high school years, I do remember the lessons of these events, or bad friendships/relationships.  Isn't that what counts anyway?  I regret a lot of the decisions I made back then, but there are no do-overs in life, so it is what it is.  I am who I am because of those decisions.

I'll admit that I don't remember a lot of the people from my high school who have friended me on Facebook, but does it really matter how we were back then if we've become better people now?  I'm glad I don't hold on to the past because I don't think I would have made the friends from my high school that I have made this past year.  Maybe losing my mind isn't such a bad thing after all.

I can't wait to get rid of more stuff and be done with it forever.  It's very cathartic to let go of the past in such a permanent way. I would've burned that stuff as a symbolic gesture but sent it to the recycling instead (because burning it wouldn't have been very eco-friendly, now would it).  Revealing the "drama" that I went through as a teenager makes me so thankful of the life I have today, and a little anxious of what's to come in the future with my kids when they become teenagers.

So this week's eco-tip is to let go of the past and your memory clutter.  You'll find that most of it has no significance whatsoever.  And remember to recycle it if you can.

Thanks for reading!
Next week: gas logs vs. woodburning fireplaces

Declutter and simplify!

Maybe I've been watching too many hoarders shows on cable TV or maybe I'm just sick of looking at the clutter in my house these days, but I'm on a purging mission.

Since I moved in with my husband 14 years ago, we've moved 11 times.  Out of those places we lived in each place less than 3 years, with the exception of our townhouse where we lived for 4 years.  I have moved the same crap from house to house for 14 years. So now, since this is the last house we'll live in til we retire (I hope!), I am taking it upon myself to finally purge of this shhhtuff.

It's a very liberating experience, and I've always wanted to live more simply.  I have what the organizational experts call "memory clutter", and LOTS of it.  I keep ticket stubs, theater programs, and city maps of places I've been.  Mainly it's because I have the worst memory and would forget about these events otherwise.

But on the other hand, I'm very type-A and believe in "a place for everything, and everything in it's place". I also believe in the technique of getting rid of something if you bring in something new.  I go through the kids toys, books, and clothes as often as I can (once every 2 months or so) and have a designated spot in my storage room where I'll either sell the stuff (in a yard sale or consignment sale), or I'll donate it.  My husband gave me a scanner for Christmas which has me scanning recipes, articles and, hopefully soon, receipts so I can have less mounds of paper in my life.

Knowing the stuff isn't going into a landfill is the most gratifying thing for me.  And getting it out of my house is the best feeling in the world.  Breathing a little easier without stressing about this junk in my life is the best reward, and not a bad way to start out the new year.

Hope you can purge and de-clutter your space in order to live more simply.  Remember to recycle the papers you get rid of and back up any files you put into your computer.  Also, get a shredder to dispose of personal documents or take your stuff to a community shredding event.

Happy purging!