Things are Things - Memories are forever

I was watching the show "Hoarders" the other night and the lady on there didn't want to get rid of her junk because of memories.   The social worker told her that things can be destroyed but memories will live on forever.  The show made me stop and think about my house.  I am a hoarder to some extent.  I always called it being a pack rat.  You never know when you might need that thing you are storing.  Sure shoo-ten, as soon as I throw it away, I will need it.   But I keep things because of the memories.  I have several stuff animals that I keep.  A bear that my brother gave to me for Christmas when he was young, a dog that Ed won for me at the fair and others.  I love the memories I have when I look at those things.  The only problem I have now is,  things are starting to take over. 


Do I really need my valuable stuff?   Can I live without it?  Some of the junk will probably never see the light of day again.   I have to move it from one place to another because it is in the way.  I have a room in my basement, that I call my craft room. It is so full of my treasures that I can't enjoy crafting any more.  I step over boxes to get to my sewing machine, I trip over totes that are full memories, and sometimes I walk into the room, look it over and turn around and leave.  The treasures are no longer enjoyable.  They are a problem. 

I have come to the mind set that I can start to get rid of my treasures.   I don't need them to keep the memories alive.  I can record my memories in a journal.  Take pictures and make scrapebook pages.  Then I can lovingly hold my treasures for a few minutes, hours and then pack them up and give them to someone else that need them to start their own memories.  I will always have the warm fuzzy feelings that they bring me.  Letting them go, allows me to move forward and gain new memories.  Things are things.   Memories are forever.