last weekend, matt and i started cleaning out our attic storage. i have so many totes up there you would wonder why i don't invest in rubbermaid. no lie. anyways, as we were cleaning out (more like matt wanting me to throw everything i own away) i came across a lot of interesting things. i also came up with an idea for this post.
i opened one tote up, and inside i found three of my old journals! i had just been thinking about them a while ago, so it was a nice surprise to find them. i love looking back and reading about what i was dealing with at different times in my life (kind of why i like to blog - duh). in the same tote were award plaque's that matt had received for different sports awards in high school, a puck i had received during one of the years i managed hockey, a few of the garters i wore at my proms, yearbooks, and a ton of school pictures from my friends over the years (hahaha - i should post some of these for fun). in another tote, i found a ton of my old 'high school duds'. i'm talking about any type of clothing that had our school name on it, the sport i managed with my name on it, warm up's with my number on it, high school football jersey's...that sort of thing. god damn, i was small. what the hell? :) anyways, here's where i need your help.
i am looking for suggestions on what to do with all this stuff. matt says to toss it all. it is just taking up space. however, i am having a hard time thinking i should just toss everything. i thought about asking my mom to make a quilt of some sort with all the 'mariner clothing'. i am just stumped about what to do with those awards of matt's. i'm sure there is a ton of other similar things i will find this weekend when we work on the project again. i think it would be cool to be able to show these to tucker when gets older maybe? i don't know why, but i know i always liked hearing about my parent's life when they were younger. you know - what were they like, what were they involved in? having stuff like this just adds to the story right?
what have you done with stuff from your high school/college years? do you have any cool creative project ideas for this stuff? i'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
leave me a comment and then visit the other thoughts for thursday bloggers: jessica, kristi, zoe, heather, kim, michelle, and hilary.
yes i would love to make some kind of quilt with your memories! it won't happen tomorrow but i will do it for you. i have a few things left from highschool. and pre marriage. stuff i should get rid of. when we move to the new house i will be going thru everything. it will be time to sort things then. i will leave some of it till after i am gone from this lovely world to my kids to do as they wish....sorry kids:)
Posted by: jenny's mom/Tucker's gram | 2008.04.18 at 14:07
I was just having this conversation with my mom yesterday. She wanted to get rid of a bunch of my stuff in her basement but I told her to hold off until I could see it because I wanted to make a quilt out of all my athletic gear.
Posted by: Sarah | 2008.04.18 at 08:36
I pared my stuff down so it fits into one med size tote. I can't just toss that stuff. I did make a shadow box with my high school letter and medals from sports.
Posted by: Robyn | 2008.04.17 at 22:44
i say don't throw it away either...i'm not sure where a bunch of my stuff from h.s. went and now i'm regretting it. i think the only things i have left are yearbooks from junior/senior year and one of my football jerseys. i remember wearing my dads old jersey when i was like 8 even tho it was 20 times to big :) as far as stuff from college, it's been a lot easier to keep track of and most of it is uniforms and plaques so they're pretty easy to keep around. in utah we had an "i love me" room where miranda hung up a u.s. flag quilt that my mom made for me along with diplomas/awards/medals, class ring, and a bunch of other stuff from the academy/air force that i thought turned out pretty good. i'm hoping they will make for a lot of good stories for the grandkids some day ;)
Posted by: trav | 2008.04.17 at 21:45
i made a scrapbook with most of the paper and picture stuff. i have all of the kids outfits that they wore home from the hospital and i plan to have a quilt made.
Posted by: zoe | 2008.04.17 at 20:49
I have this same problem but I absolutely will not get rid of it. Sure, it takes up space, but discovering it again and going through it and remembering who you were and what you did is so fun. I do, however, love the quilt idea and think that would be a great way to keep it AND make it useful at the same time.
Posted by: Terra | 2008.04.17 at 19:45
I'd throw it. I have so much crap too, and if I had the time or desire to go through it, I'd toss it too! I'm nostalgic to an extent, but high school and college aren't on the top of my list anymore for favorite times of my life. Good luck figuring it out!
Posted by: Michelle Sauer | 2008.04.17 at 19:38
We just went through this at my house. I have a very hard time throwing anything away but I have gotten better. I have been to a "declutter class" and their suggesstion is the same as Jessica's. Take a picture of the item, you holding the item, when you used to wear the item or whatever and put them all in a photo/scrapbook. She also suggestion cutting a little piece of the item (obviously clothes) and putting it in with the pictures. Now you still have a great memory and something tangible to touch. I think easier said than done. I have a whole bin full of high school stuff like that. I am just waiting for the time to scrap it all. I have stuff from elementary school in there. My Mom saved some good stuff and I have all of the class pictures and senior wills and stuff like that too. Wow, now that I think about it, I should really start on that! Good Luck.
Posted by: Kelly | 2008.04.17 at 16:15
i have a hard time with this stuff too. i really didn't keep much from h.s.... but now that my kid is 9 and has TONS of art projects, etc... i've not been able to keep all of HIS crap! so this is what i say to do... put your camera to use! i take a pic of my kid by his latest project, or just the project itself, and then have a digital file of it... i know you can't do this with everything, but it's a thought, and a way for you to get creative with your photography :)
Posted by: jessica | 2008.04.17 at 14:25
Unless you love your old HS stuff, I say donate it!!! There is no way I would want to keep my ugly orange and black soccer uniforms around...but maybe that is just me!
I would definitely hold onto the journals though :)
Posted by: Kristi S | 2008.04.17 at 13:44
I am going to suggest things that I should do myself. I have two totes full of the exact same things you sound like you have...minus all the sports stuff. I wasn't into sports cause I sucked.
The quilt idea is great. Also, you could just keep one or two of your favorite shirts/sports jerseys and frame it. Maybe sounds cheesey, but you could even cut out the logo and put a couple of them together in a shadow box type of frame.
For the smaller stuff, if its stuff you really don't think your own children/grandchildren would like to "hold" onto someday, take pictures of all of the items. Then, put them together in a small scrapbook. I know you don't scrapbook but it doesn't have to be fancy. Maybe just take the photos and slap them into a small photo album. You could also buy those little pockets and put one on a page and put any small momentos in the pockets, to go along with the photo. Like if you have any tickets from an event, or your dried corsage or something....
I don't know what you have, but I think you should save a good majority of it. I can't believe how many times I've heard my mom say, "If only my mom would have saved those..."
Posted by: Jill | 2008.04.17 at 13:31
I love the coffee table idea, that is so funny! I would totally do something fun like that with my stuff, but I fear glass table tops + toddlers.
Whenever I spring clean with my hubby he always wants to throw everything out too...I keep old letters/cards/pictures...I love to look at my scrapbooks/journals every once in awhile...it's fun to reflect. Keep them...what else are you going to store in the attic?!
Posted by: Hilary | 2008.04.17 at 13:11
umm, yes, we have a big huge trophy case with a whole bunch of crap in it. :) and i am laughing at the coffee table suggestion.
my mom and i made tom a quilt with a bunch of his old t-shirts/warmups, and while he nearly cried when i took his t-shirts away, i think it's a good way to keep them. i have a bunch of my shirts cut out for a quilt as well.
i also loved seeing my parents stuff when i was younger. we actually just got one of tom's basketball warmups back (from his high-school gf's mom!) and i'm planning on keeping that for max... maybe someday he'll play basketball at east and then he can wear it as a throwback jersey ;) so, i wouldn't throw it all away... i mean, maybe some things... but not all of it.
do you still have your sweet mariner stats polo?!? :) dang, we were hot.
Posted by: Kim | 2008.04.17 at 12:51
I have a big old gun case that my father helped me convert into a trophey case and it contains a bunch of my old sports stuff.
I would suggest you make a shadow box or something like that which you can either put on the wall or do something creative like make a coffee table out of or something like that. Don't throw it away whatever you do, that kind of stuff is priceless.
Posted by: MLBDaddy | 2008.04.17 at 12:33