100 Things | Pack Rat

7. I am a pack rat

I just have trouble throwing things out. Before I moved to Colorado, I had a couple moves in Ohio so I really went through things but I still have quite a bit. When I was in Ohio going through things, I was surprised by the things I came across such as quite a lot of of school work. I had papers from high school and college. I had the index cards that I used to quiz myself before art history tests. I had even research notes that were scribbled all over in no order that I could make out now so many years later. Why did I keep that stuff?

In July I picked up a box when visiting my parents and again it had stuff in it that I am so surprised I kept. I had letters from a friend that I barely remember now. It took me a lot to finally recall her and then I was upset I didn't remember her as we were really good friends. And reading through the letters it is quite evident. Also in the box were decorations that I hung in my dorm room. I had a few old diaries. And a box that I used to put special little treasures in (that only had a naked troll doll in it now). It was just amazing to look through all the stuff I kept.

I am also a pack rat when it comes to art supplies. I have so much ephemera in my studio that I know I can't use it all in my life time. But I keep it for a just in case I might need it. Granted I do go through stuff and mail out some stuff to artist friends at times but still not enough obviously by the looks of my studio. I just was cleaning it and trying to reorganize it and label all my containers so I could find things easier. And it really opened my eyes of how much "stuff" I have sitting in here.

Magazines are another thing that I hang on to forever. I finally went through quite a lot of them during spring cleaning this year. But I still have quite a bit in my studio but the magazine I had the bedroom and the living room were filtered down quite a lot. I ended up throwing out 2 heavy duty trash bags of magazines (they probably could have fit in one but I couldn't have lifted it to get it to the trash.) I went through and cut out recipes and things I thought I might use in art. So I still have a pile of stuff but instead of have stacks and stacks of magazines I have a fairly small pile of things tore out of the magazines.

Clothing and books are my other areas of being a pack rat. I am actually really good about giving clothing to good will if I haven't wore it for 2 years then it is given away. But I have an exception to this rule. When I lived in Cleveland I went to quite a few parties and dressed up. I have some really pretty dress up clothes that I just can't part with even though I don't get very many chances to wear them here in Grand Junction. Shoes is the other again I do get rid of them but the dressy shoes I do have a hard time donating. I have some red patent strap-y heels that I bought in Germany for like $6 dollars American and I can't let them go. Will I ever wear them again...well maybe. I can hope right?

Again before I moved to Colorado I got rid of a ton of books. When I lived in Topeka someone very close to me would go through books quick and she would give me paper sacks FULL of paperback books. And I hung on to my favorites. Because I am one to reread good books. But I finally just had to let some of them go. And I am at the moment regretting it as I have been wanting to reread the Earth Children series again as I never read the last book. I had all the books but the last. In one of my moves I gave them away. I am reading them through the library now but it would have been easier to of course just pull them off my book shelf and read them.

In the years, I have had a few times of regret of letting go of things. I gave so much away when I moved from Cleveland in with friends in a small town in Ohio. I gave away my fostoria china my Aunt gave me and I REGRET that so much. I actually thought I hung on to it but when I moved things to from Ohio to Colorado I couldn't find it. I also had some antique china that had wheat stocks on it that were in the same box as the fostoria so that is gone too. I had some really great fabrics that now living with Michael and having a home I can see a million uses for but of course when I was moving so much I knew I didn't have a use for it so got rid of it all. So maybe these are the reasons I hang on to things because I regret some things I did lose through my moves.

On thing I have to say I am a fairly organized packrat. Things are labeled and boxed neatly. Thank goodness!


(top picture of cookbooks something I have problems with letting go of and also I like collecting them. I get that from my Mom. I have 2 rows of cookbooks and recipes. The folders have recipes I have printed from the Internet. There are also all my cooking light magazines and those little Pillsbury recipe booklets that are at the supermarket check out -- 2nd picture from the top is a little coupon holder that I got at the dollar tree and it has little bits for art - quite a few stamps that I cut off of mail we get plus tea bags that I use for little pockets in altered art, 3rd picture is a stack of misc. paper - coffee filters that I dyed with tea, tea and coffee stained paper, mini paper sacks, the waffle paper from a coffee cup, gold paper from the inside of an invitation and so on and the last picture is just a little shelving unit that is in my studio with just a FEW of my book and see how those are overflowing on that unit the rest of our shelving units are really the same way - overflowing with books. Oh and yes that is a photo of my love of my life. It is one my favorite photos of him.)