It's crazy to dig through the entire contents of your house after you've been there 20 yrs without looking at this stuff. I often said I don't envy anyone who has to move.

But is it interesting coming across some of the old keepsakes. Not terribly sentimental, but there are things I'll never part with.

Grandma's crochet book form 1942, hooks and the table cloth she made from the pineapple pattern in that book.

The Piggy cookie jar Great Aunt Florrie gave to Mom as a housewarming gift before I was even born.

A clay Rhino dd made in 1st grade - he's pretty good, too!

A table dh's dad made in shop class.

The pix of Mom and Dad, way back when.

Dad's prayer book, 1st Holy communion. 1934.

A drawer full of cards the kids made and the art from the fridge.

Everything you mentioned would have great sentimental value to me. I'm the worst for saving things that have some sort of memory for me. I'll throw away clutter.....papers and junk mail, etc.....but sentimental stuff I hold onto forever.

When I started working for my last employer (I was there almost 16 years) my youngest child was just 5 years old. He drew a picture in first grade of a yellow duck....there were green and blue fish and pretty bluegreen water.

I hung that picture on my cubicle wall and moved it with me whenever I changed desks and then again when I finally got my own office. I didn't hang it up in my office but it was kept in a file 'cos I planned to hang it up eventually.

My son worked for the same company as I did for a couple of years after he graduated high school and one day I pulled out that old picture and showed it to him. He remembered it!! And I could tell it made him feel good to realize that I had held onto that picture all these years.

Some things have a much greater value than $$. I'm glad you found all those items.....and hope you enjoy the memories they brought back.

We moved a few years ago, and I thought I was being ruthless. I was heartless and chucked out so much crap! how do you collect all this stuff I thought. Then we moved here, and still 90% of what I kept is still sitting in the basement in boxes. next time I throw it all away. I kept all our photos, and a few trinkets, but after that, its just boxed up and useless.

I wish I had some sentimental stuff to hang onto.

So true, Brain, I'm with you on the moving preparations, I'm packing and sorting as well. It's amazing how much easier it is to part with stuff when it has to be packed or pitched.

There are a very few select items that I will always keep with me, and I do find myself looking at them from time to time, but, I'm fortunate in the truth that I just don't attach a lot of meaning to things.

I've just demolished all my photo albums in favor of scanning and boxing only the prints. I'm so brave, I've even pitched the negatives I've been hauling around all these years!

I have one closet full to the brim with Family memorabilia. Handed down from Mother to Daughter for decades. I look through them every once in awhile. DD is next..

I tossed the personal stuff, of which I had no memory or use.

ahh...about seven years ago we took our roof off and added a second floor
to our home...at that time I went thru stuff and swore I would never move.
I did pitch alot of the kids artwork as I literally saved every scrap the
first two scribbled on..but I added two more children and lots more
art work..this I have to work on.

As for things....I seem to have kept those things that I use...like
my grandmothers christmas decorations...my greatgrandmothers vase,
etc. I like to use them because they make me feel happy.

oh boy! Clutter!! Yea

I know what it's like to move the clutter... you don't how much *stuff* you have until you have to move it!!

Pack, move, unpack, put away. What a cycle!!!

As I sit at this computer, I look around... many things, including a cat who does not care one iota about clutter. He makes his own

Niko

Every year I go through things and toss. What was important last year isn't this year and so on. I try real hard not to keep things that are in a box forever. If I can't put it out and enjoy it I give it away to another unsuspecting relative. They love that stuff! hahaha

Jim's a different story. lol

When we cleaned out our basement a few years ago we went through all our old keepsakes from before we were married. It was a lot of fun to do it and brought back so many memories. Of course, I still kept it all. Then I can go back through it again!

We have now been married for 17 years and can honestly say we don't have anything we have held onto unless we have it in our curio cabinets or on display. A lot of those things I take out on special occassions and use. The other items are knickknack kinds of things that every few years I go through and toss things we don't want anymore.

I love to use things that have been passed on to me because then I remember who I got it from or some happy memory of being with them. So as older family members pass on and I get something of theirs, when I use it, I like to tell my DD stories of that person or something that happened when I was younger.

My sibs are gonna *inherit* some things when I move too, LOL!

Like the 3' *boy* statue mom made in ceramics. I've babysat him for 20 years...

Ds's baby shoes and his first cap go in the old trunk, and maybe dd's Dalmation pillow. The pic she drew of me and Sophie.