Keeping Things- What Should I Keep?

So last time my mind was on why I keep things. Those things that outwardly have no real purpose. Inwardly they may hold the key to something great- but often it isn't seen simply by looking at the item.

Jesus tells us: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:20-21

It seems simple enough what I shouldn't keep in my heart- physical, material items. These are easily destroyed. They can be stolen or corrupted.

But what of those items that you like and would like to preserve for future generations? As mentioned, items such as tshirts that have been lovingly been picked up at various locations for much-loved grandchildren; drawings from when a dd was 3 (her first smiley face); the best car drawing that ds 'ever' drew (when he was 8); or even those cds that contain educational programs that are just a bit too old for the kids (or too young..). Are those wrong to keep? Again, when I ask this question (or really any of these) it is a rhetorical one- you might have a different answer than I.

If you do not feel that they are wrong to keep (as I do not- unless they become obsessions and all consuming- where our heart is) then perhaps you've also wondered what to keep of all these things. I do this on a very regular basis. I go through my boxes and shelves periodically and purge items that I've decided their time has come (haha to 'go'). I often look around my little area -whether it is at my computer or the kitchen counter- and think to myself, "Is all this necessary?" Honestly, the answer is almost always, "No".

I came across a great post at Barefoot Voyage on how to keep the paper clutter reigned in. I highly recommend the post; it is full of wonderful tips and reasons why she keeps her things the way she does. It spawned this post, honestly.

Although I do not have grand tips and suggestions as to how or where to keep items, I do think there are some things that I personally want to keep- and here's how I plan to keep them. 

• Drawings- we are a family of artists. If you were to talk to ds he would say he cannot draw (phooey- totally untrue!) and yet I have papers and books full of his 'art work'. A year or so ago I'd purchased an expanding file folder for the purpose of keeping papers like these. Perhaps when the folder is full I will digitize the art work and then recycle the papers. It has also been suggested that the art work and drawings be used in scrapbooks for keepsakes.
• Books- we cannot get enough of books. But I've slowly been letting go of some of our unused or used up books. Ones that we no longer read or we didn't really care for in the first place. Paperbackswap and our public library are richer because of these :) The books we do keep are kept in all kinds of places. Fortunately, most of those places are bookshelves :)
• Clothing- some baby clothes that I've kept and don't wish to alter are kept in a safe box with other baby mementos to be passed on when the days come that my children are out on their own. My ds doesn't care about his clothes (is that simply a boy trait??) but I've kept every tshirt that his Grammy has ever given him (they are special and often refer to a specific place) and some day I will make a quilt or something similar out of these. My dd is more sentimental for clothes (a girl trait??) and has a few dresses that she doesn't want to part with because of memories. I have thought about using them in a similar way to create a keepsake for her. Fortunately they are both very good about getting rid of clothing that is too small or ready for the trash (I used to recycle/repair/stitch/sew/patch their older clothes to make them last longer but...too. much. work)
• Dishes- does that seem silly? We do not entertain other people very often at our home. We are a family of 4- really all we require are 4 plates, bowls, forks, spoons, glasses...or something like that. However, there was a time when I was younger that my mother had some Cornflower Blue Corningware that (although I honestly do not recall ever seeing them) have embedded themselves in my mind. I now have a collection of these dishes. They are all in one cupboard on one and 1/2 shelves. Someday I will give them to my kids (or grandkids). The rest of the dishes come and go- we even use jars for glasses :)

Those are the things that I want to keep. As I look around me there are a lot of things I see that do not fit into the categories above, and that is okay. Those things come and go. I think that it is coming time to purge more of the unnecessary things out of our house (such as old DVD players, stacks of books for younger readers, and the strangely large pile of 'junk' mail...

I'm looking forward to some Spring cleaning.