Keeping Things

I keep thinking about having a yard sale. Or about making a run to Goodwill. Neither of those have happened and I wonder if I will get to it...eventually or not at all. 

How often do you tuck a paper away because someday you'll want it to look back on? How often is an outfit that no longer fits put onto a shelf because someday it might be useful again? How about those drawings and doodles that your children (or nieces, nephews, grandkids, or neighbors' kids) that have been carefully put into a pile to keep for another time?

Packrat or not, there are reasons to keep things. Homeschooling families in states that require a portfolio know first hand how important it is to keep some things. Papers showing improvement in subjects, to show that subjects were indeed covered, as well as showing mastery in the subject area. There are different ways to show these: photographs, drawings, essays, paintings, videos, commentaries, and many more. Funschooling has a great post on keeping a portfolio for school.

What of all those things that will not 'fit' into the portfolio for a child's school, such as the tshirt that he wore every other day until it was too small? Or the dress a daughter wore for years and loved that now hangs in the closet in its own special spot? Or the book that was read over and over for years that now sits on the shelf? Are these thing unnecessary? Should they be tossed?

There is a lot of talk and discussion about possessions and belongings- especially in light of being a Christian. Jesus told the man who wished to follow him that he needed sell his belongings and follow him, and later we are told to store up our treasures in heaven where neither rust or moths can corrupt. In light of this, is it wrong to keep things that hold memories? Is it wrong to have a box of items that have no purpose but for the sentimentalism of their owner?

I do not know if I have an answer to those questions. Perhaps they are better left between those individuals and God. Some questions that I have been thinking on in terms of keepsakes (or anything that we are reluctant to give away or get rid of): Why do we keep these things? What should we keep? Why do we need to purge ourselves of these things?

Let's start with the why we keep things. There are quite few reasons why people keep items. As mentioned above, some states require homeschoolers to keep portfolios. These may include many items other than pieces of paper. Included are photos, scrapbooks, notebooks, or perhaps the invention or items that were produced by the students. Generally speaking though, they are made up mostly of items that are relevant to schooling.

The reasons people keep other items that are not a means to an end (such as a portfolio) range from a need to have a connection to the past, a memory that they worry will fade, a connection with the future, a connection with a certain feeling and/or the simple inability to part with items. That last one seems rather unconnected to the others but perhaps it is a result of the others.

My name is Blossom. I'm a packrat. That's my confession. I have things that when others look at them they wonder 'why?' In a small container that can be used as an individual soda can cooler there is a napkin from a flight I took on Alaska Airlines and on top of this napkin there is a very dry leaf. In a large plastic container I have every tshirt that has been given to my ds (who is now 11) from his Grammy that he can no longer wear. These are the things I am talking about keeping and holding onto and wondering if they should be done away with.

I keep things because I cannot seem to part with them for sentimental reasons, for the possibility that they will be useful and also as connections to past and future.

Next time I will focus on what I should keep...if anything.