What can you just not throw away?

[peach]

What do you have that needs to be thrown away, but you just can't let go of?

I am NOT a clutter person, but I do still have my baby blanket and can't bring myself to throw it away. It's a plaid blanket that used to have silk binding around the edges. It's been re-sewn a dozen times, the blanket is threadbare and scratchy, its basically a rag. But I love it and it's sitting in our linen closet.

[thewop]

My wedding dress. It was super cheap from Davids Bridal and I spilled red wine all down the front at my reception and I never had it cleaned and it sits in a closet, but I just canNOT bring myself to toss it.

[tarheels]

My mom's house burned down when I was in college, and it was truly sad for her (awful, really), but for me, I sort of appreciate that it took care of life's clutter and stuff. Compare to DH, who has a storage unit full of the most.random.shit.ever. that I bitch about on here all the time. (I'm currently fired up about the "I participated" plaques from junior high bball - WTH am I supposed to do with those?!) The completely worthless and odd things that I can't get rid of:

- my first "grown-up" outfit that made me feel pretty (a spring green linen pencil skirt and matching sweater from Gap circa 1995)

- my first "expensive" jeans from A&F circa 1998

- a Winnie the Pooh watch that I hated at the time but just can't bring myself to throw out even though I didn't like it then and certainly don't like it now

- a Laura Ashley toiletry bag that matches my childhood bedding

[TBM]

I just rescued my rocking chair from the charity pile yesterday, only an hour before they came to pick up the huge pile of stuff on my porch.

The chair is almost as old as I am....I don't remember not having it. It is in disrepair and the paint has flaked off of much of it. It is a style that is definitely nms. I have no use for it, and neither of my daughters want it.

I just couldn't let it go. Maybe I will change my mind and let it go before we move, but for now, I feel like I rescued it from a horrible fate, even though it wasn't headed to the wood chipper.

[auntie]

That's sad about your mom Tarheels.

We had a flood right after DS started kindie. I mean river water 30" up on the second floor. It's kind of liberating to know you can be OK without all your stuff. I was able to rescue things that were higher up and had a few things restored like the hutch my grandfather made my nana as a wedding present.

But what is it about wedding gowns? I still had my crazy over-the-top one from my first marriage when we had the flood which was sort of weird. I was able to save the jacket from my second wedding dress and my late sister's wedding gown.

I have trouble trashing old rags because I might need them.

[IIOY]

All of my medals and ribbons from being a competitive swimmer. I rarely look at them and when I do, I am bored after a page or two.

Various papers from college. Some are ridiculous to keep, such as the random correspondence from my school about unimportant things.

Two college photo albums that have a lot to do with a college boyfriend. I never look at them but I spent so much time putting them together (in a quasi-scrapbook kind of way) and there is enough non-boyfriend stuff in there to give them sentimental value.

Random kitchen appliances that are cheap and/or useless to me. I am convinced that some day I will find a use for all of them because once in a while I manage to resurrect one of them.

Mini travel bags I acquired while flying First Class back in my singleton days. They contain things like tiny combs, tubes of toothpaste, etc.. I'm convinced I will use them some day. Meanwhile the toothpaste and hand lotions are probably unidentifiable goo by now.

[susieq]

Scrap fabric from my quilts, because I might NEED a 2" square of that color some day...
Newspaper and paper feed bags. This drives DH nuts but I use it to mulch my garden and new flower beds.
My wedding dress. It will be 10 years in 2014. I have decided that I will try it on next anniversary and see that it does not even come close to fitting. Then I will be ok with getting rid of it, maybe.

[bunnymendelbaum]

I'm keeping my wedding dress. It was pretty basic and sleek, so maybe I'll get some use of it in the future??

I'm been on a super purging streak the last 1-2 years, but I can't get rid of this gray thermal Henley that was my dad's. it has tons of holes in it from him welding and it is paper thin, but I still wear it to bed.

[sailorgray]

My son's art. I keep reading of these people that take pics of the art and throw the actual art out but I can't. His little fingers didn't touch those pictures, but they did touch the paper bag painted pink and filled with newspaper that's suppose to be a pig.


Oh, and my wedding dress.

[Deleted]

I am the least sentimental person, but I just can't get rid of my wedding dress either.
Sometimes, I think it's okay to keep memories (as long as it doesn't get out of hand).

Mine is coats. I must have 25. Some for school, some for barn, some for farm events not dirty, some for farm events dirty, some for out and about, some for getting the mail. It's a bit nuts.

[SusanBAnthony]

Nothing. I can honestly say that.

When we moved here I got rid of every kind of misc cluttery thing in my life. My fabric stash, my yarn stash, most of my knock knack things, etc etc. I have one rubber,aid tub of stuff from my childhood. I don't keep the kids art- I take pics and put them in a photo album from shutterfly every year. I have one small Rubbermaid tub of outgrown clothes of theirs, one small tub of art stuff, and that is my limit.

[auntie]

I have a couple pieces of DS's art framed. I have his 7th grade self portrait in my office, a chickadee he did in my dining room and a pencil drawing of my old cat in my closet. The cat was his first real drawing- it looks like the cat except for the chicken feet he gave him.

[Deleted]

A framed recipe that my mom gave me when I got my first apartment. She wrote out her homemade salsa recipe in fancy handwriting, drew little hot peppers on it and put it in a burlap frame. It's very cute. At the time it went with my kitchen color scheme but now it doesn't. I don't have it out at present (tend to rotate it w/other stuff) but I don't think I'll ever part with it. Too special.

[simpsongal]

I have every issue of Martha Stewart magazine dating back to 1992 (subscriber since age 9). Can't bring myself to toss them.

[TBM]

Mar 27, 2013 11:23:32 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

I have every issue of Martha Stewart magazine dating back to 1992 (subscriber since age 9). Can't bring myself to toss them.

I just donated all of my old MSL magazines.  I had the first five years or so, starting with the preview issue.  I didn't even look at them...I just handed the magazine files to DH to take out to the donating pile and let them go.  It felt good.




 

[salsaverde]

regilious artifacts, i have serious catholic guilt when it comes to cards, prayers, etc that my mom has given me.

my favorite outfit that ethan wore at 3 months, actually too many baby items so i cant list them all. (he's 6 now)

[ktzmoh]

A little red cape my mom sewed for me when i was a kid. And my wedding veil. It's a late 1800s English lace veil and I will never get rid of it (though my wedding dress was out the door the week after my honeymoon lol)

[simpsongal]

Maybe I'll just weed out the holiday issues -- those are my favoriates (especially Christmas and Halloween). I have a feeling I'll be willing to part with the bulk of them once we have kids and the clutter goes up exponentionally.

I was trying to make a goal of going through each magazine, cutting out the good ideas and tossing the rest.

ETA: Reading my post, I sound like Frank Costanza talking about his TV Guide collection...wake up call

[tottenham]

I majored in German in college and still have 25+ novels, novellas and books of poetry written in German. I have barely spoken the language since then and would struggle through reading them. I can't seem to let them go - even the books I disliked!

[aweilba]

I have a box full of old pieces of writing from high school and college... I know, that's kind of weird.  But these were either papers/stories that I'd written and published, or ones that I really loved and don't have digital copies due to them being saved on floppy disks.  My husband keeps telling me to scan them into the computer, but I haven't done so yet; it's a task that will take a long time.