To Keep or Not To Keep

Emptying tubs that haven't been opened since shortly after I moved here.

It's crazy to find stuff that I haven't laid eyes on for 10 years.

Then deciding what to do with the stuff is challenging.

• Some stuff is easy...bread maker? Nope, off to Goodwill.
• Lovely little pink jacket with US Women's Open logo?  Off to Goodwill, but what a pretty jacket, that no longer fits me.

• Clown pajama bag and doll made by Mom.  I saved the parts all these years thinking I was going to recreate her idea in for the younger kids.  But Stephen King has ruined clowns for most of the younger generations, so it never happened.  Now, what to do with these parts and pieces?  That one is still TBD.  I couldn't quite bring myself to dump it in the trash, yet.

• A plate that was gifted to me by my Coors pals on my retirement.  It was fun to see their handwriting again, we all worked together for at least 10 years and some of these folks I worked with my whole 30 years.  I didn't know what to do with this.  The label said it was dishwasher and microwave safe, so I thought I could add it to my hodgepodge of everyday dishes.  But, the names did not survive the dishwasher, so that decided that, recycle.

• I found a little metal jewelry box and inside were these pins from 9 Health Fairs.  I volunteered at this event for several years, mostly because Roche was involved at her hospital and she recruited all of us to pitch in.  It was always a fun day.  These little beauties went in the trash after stirring up a nice memory.

I did find a few things to keep, but mostly just photos.

Several of the photos I ran across were of Dad's Seabee pals, so I sent those off in the mail to the kids of those veterans.  Also, a big stack of photos of Vinny as a baby with family, those went in the mail to Linsey.  Slowly, I'm moving stuff out of my house, into new locations.

There are still a few totes to open and see what is stashed inside, but I'm over half done with this job and that makes me happy.  I'm actually looking forward to seeing what is inside the rest of the moving containers.