Wednesday 21 January 2015

Precious things

(Before I begin I'll start with an apology for the one appalling picture- it snowed, it didn't get light, I was rushing....enough. Sorry)


Every now and then I like to step back into my old life.

By that I mean I take a trip through memories that don’t surface very often. I have, ahem, several memory boxes. I remember seeing Anthea Turner (Perfect housewife – does anyone remember that? Grief I didn’t know whether it was aspirational or a comedy programme…probably a bit of both for me) suggest that in order to minimise clutter in your home you should have one small box for memories. 

Ahahahahahahahahaha….if only…

So now I have several, smallish, boxes. (Pictured is just one stash of boxes- don't look in the loft)

Cards, letters, tickets, pictures, receipts (yes receipts!!) …you name it it’s in there. All telling a story of a day or a time that was and still is, important to me.

Now my latest addition to the box pile is possibly my most precious…it’s the boxes full of my children’s drawings. How do you know which to keep or not? Big R is a prolific artist and scribe. This has only been enhanced since she started school. Now LittleR is following in her footsteps. What to do with it all? Every now and then I have a cull but it makes me feel guilty…but when we’re getting through a ream of paper every month …

Included in these boxes are something that won’t be culled. The girls’ wristbands from their births. My Mum still has mine and my brothers…truly a precious thing.

You can read about more precious things from
Sarah at Mitenska
Leanne at Today’s Stuff

11 comments:

  1. That's so sweet! I have my boys first school sweaters nursery, infants, junior & high school. They think I'm mad when I line them up. Ah yes what do you cull, I have great regret of getting rid of a box city made by my youngest, it really was way to big.

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  2. Hi N! Thanks again for joining in. We too have memory boxes - my mum kept some old school reports, exercise books, certificates, scribblings... I'm so glad she did. And now I struggle to part with Joe's old things, particularly his little clothes (hand knits in particular).
    If you can find the space it's worth holding on to those memories. You won't regret it.
    S x

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  3. Hey N,
    I have photographed all of Olly's pictures and junk modelling, and archived them. I keep the really special ones in a artists file. Obviously I can't keep all of the junk (apart from Buddy the robot, who is amazing), so I find this is a good way of of keeping a record of his output. I have kept special clothes and bits and bobs for all my boys.
    Leanne xx

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  4. I love that you save so many things. I think it's important. I have my children's hospital bracelets as well as their hats and the little combs the hospital used during the stay. I save a lot of things, I'm kind of a pack rat. :)

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  5. It's lovely to keep these things isn't it. I know what you mean about the proliferation of art, and it always feels terrible to throw it away doesn't it. CJ xx

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  6. I saw a wonderful idea once to photograph or scan your childrens pictures and then have them printed into a book - like you can do with regular photos - and then you can "keep" the artworks, but they are more special because they are in a book and they take up less space. I guess that you could do it with all kinds of treasures. I hope that doesn't send you off into too much of a whole other memory collection! It is great to collect and keep memories though I think! xx

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  7. I have about three memory boxes per child, and keep everything, I am so sentimental. I even kept the sticks I weed on for the pregnancy tests. That's gross, I know. I have found that, from Year 1 onwards, the amount of artwork that comes home from school dramatically decreases which is a bit of a relief! I write the age they were on the back of the drawing and then, once a year or so, I have a massive cull.

    But you must keep these things as they are so precious to you! xx

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  8. I still have the wristbands ... but only one large memory box for each of the four children, all of whom have now left school. Not a lot of their childhood art remains though ... it fell victim to a huge declutter some years ago.

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