No dear, I don't want to throw that away...

So we are in the process of moving and my wife is trying to convince me to trash anything that isn't nailed together or it's something we wear or eat with, apparently.
I have a few boxes of old music charts (when I worked in radio) mixed with old music mags and my newspaper clippings from college and old jobs along with some old posters, pics and other "memento" stuff.
She wants it gone. I'm not going to let it happen.
Yes, I don't look at these papers day-in and day-out, but I'd like to hang on to this stuff til the day I die. Is that wrong?
Am I a pack rat? Maybe a little. But I don't over do it and it's all neatly tucked away in a few boxes that hang out in the garage.
Are they heavy and will they take up space in the moving truck? Sure. So what.
How many figurines and shoes does she really need versus how many she has? I don't mind.

 

Are you my dad?

Because there hasn't been room for a car in my parents' garage since 1989.

 

"Do you want to throw that away?" is code for "I need more room for my shoes."

 

It's hard-wired in the female DNA. They need to throw away crap so they can go spend more money on new crap. Which they will throw away when the DNA devil taps them on the shoulder again in a month or so. Ad infinitum.

 

I always bring up her gravy boat.

Once a year is all its used. Once. As long as I look at/use my crap that much, it's justified.

 

We are in the process of going through a lot of our stuff. And no, my wife isn't looking for more room for her shoes. Honestly. They all fit in the living room closet.
I've been tossing clips and old notebooks I really don't need or care about. Clips from the 8th grade volleyball team I covered? Nope, don't need that. Stories that I liked or have special meaning I am keeping. Similar with reporter notebooks. Do I really need notebooks from my first year in the biz in 1999? I'm basically keeping notebooks from events that were important to me (Indy 500, etc.) and ditching the rest. However, I am keeping press passes/event credentials.
Going through a ton of stuff this weekend, I've realized how fortunate I've been to cover so many things and so many events I never thought I'd be able to. I realized if I make a career change, I've accomplished a lot and won't have regrets.

 

I found my press passes as well, man I've lost weight since the 2004 NBA postseason!
For an update...after going through 3 boxes and a small tote, I got it all down to one large tote. So, I guess we both win.
So does anyone want to buy an unworn Toronto Raptors hat (one size fits all strap on back), a slightly used Montreal Expos hat (size 7 1/4) or a brand new Red Sox hat (size 7)? Perhaps a stack of zip drive discs labeled "blank" or maybe a 1997 Washington Caps gameday program with Kelly Miller on the cover?
In other words...I did have some crap in there, but I kept the good stuff.

 

I've moved three times in the last 48 months. I was a military brat growing up. Wish I didn't think component audio and video was the way to go, and I have a handful of sports jerseys (for those of you who haven't been to the outings).

But, otherwise, I've made a point not to accumulate more and more stuff. Some others whom I've helped are finally starting to see the light. Finally.

 

I've moved 10 times in the last 10 1/2 years. The one good thing is that it means there is an annual purge. But I do have some mementos from the business as well as my childhood. Luckily I've been able to keep my childhood stuff (my hockey cards, a security blanket and a stuffed animal) at my parents without them tossing it. Nothing wrong with holding onto such things as long as it is under control. It is good to be able to remember where you've been and what you've gone through.

It's weired, we were actually talking about this at work on Thursday night.

 

I have a large box worth of memories and things I won't part with. Compared to some others, though, it's under control.

This wasn't an episode of "Hoarders" by a long shot. But it was excessive.

 

Now that I have a house, the general rule is if it's not on display, why keep it? I used that rule to dump most of my old trading cards, keeping only a few dozen which I found a display case for.

After that I have one box of stuff I should hang, like diplomas and degrees, but haven't yet due to laziness.