Saturday, August 22, 2009

PRESSING ISSUE: Cleaning out childhood items

I'm not usually a weekend poster (rarely a poster sometimes it seems!) but I would love some feedback and conversation about this topic from y'all!


I'm cleaning out my childhood trunk of items. Mr. Bella built me a trunk when we were dating and I filled it with several of my childhood memories and goodies. It's huge at 4.5x2.5.x2.5 (in feet), and it's also full! It's not even everything. My trophies, tiaras, and cheerleading poms poms are all still at my childhood home, among several other things. It's doubtful I'll ever see these items again since my mother/uterus donor makes Joan Crawford look like Carol Brady.

Anyway, items I have are cheerleading uniforms, cap and gowns from high school and college, class pictures, ribbons, certificates, plaques, baby blankets, tons of sorority items, etc. Most of these I'm sorting in boxes by category for storage in the garage (our attic sucks!). But about half of the items need to go!

I'm of course keeping uniforms, caps and gowns, pictures, yearbooks, competition programs, etc. I have thrown away my seventh grade "published" book (it was a class project), several middle school writing projects (seriously? I still have have these?), love letters (hahahahahaha! They gave me one last chuckle), and duplicate items that I had for keepsakes.

I'm on the fence about several things such as the millennium edition Barbie that was a graduation gift. It's still in the box. I don't think it's worth anything but I really don't care to keep it. The givers are very dear to me but they'll never know and probably forgot they gifted the item anyway. I also have doilie type furniture toppers in pink and green/white that my grandma crocheted. Do I keep these? I'll never use them again! I have my childhood strawberry shortcake sheet set. I also have the blanket but it's at childhood home and should be trashed if aforementioned "mother" hasn't done so already.

I also have a plethora of stuffed animals. A plush eeyore that was signed by friends upon graduation, a personalized eeyore in cap and gown for high school graduation (backstory: eeyore was my first stuffed animal and from my hero: my pappy! I carried it everywhere and he still exists today although he looks a bit rough and is held up by a doll stand. Anyway, my first stuffed animal turned childhood love set me up for YEARS of gifts of eeyore items.) I have a few of my sorority mascot stuffed animals, I have a bunny from my grandparents that I loved. It was an Easter gift and said grandparents have passed. I also have my original Mickey and Minnie from my first trip to Disney World so many moons ago. I'm unsure of these items because they are so big and I'm afraid of them being ruined if stored improperly. I also have a childhood Alf and Spud McKenzie (hey--I live in the South) they are at said childhood home and I'll probably never see again.

I have a handful of pictures and such drawn for me by children I loved over the years. What to do with those? A handful of trinkets from BB when he was a little tyke, which I'll probably keep. They fit in a gallon sandwich bag. I have a slew of picture frames that are cute and were great in my single girl apartment and would look cute in a kids room one day, but that day is far away so I think I should move past them now.

I started the project yesterday by sorting and doing an initial toss pile and maybe pile. I'm working this morning and finishing up soon so Mr. Bella can demo the wall in the "nook" of the den and make me a built in space for my studio.

So tell me! Where is your childhood/high school/college memorabilia? What did you keep? What did you toss? Where are the keep items? What do you think are important item and how did you store them?

Send your family and friends over to weigh in on the subject! I'd love to collect lots of thoughts!

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