This weekend, I cleaned out our ever expanding media collection, and culled the herd a bit so that all our DVDs still fit into the big basket under our TV. It looks so nice now that they're not overflowing anymore. There were several movies I was sad to see go, but that Flanna's definitely outgrown ("Potty Power!" and "Elmo's Potty Time," for instance!). Not sure why I am sentimental even about toilet training! Every stage is just so special!
I also tried to organize our childrens' books and to pack away books that Flannery's outgrown. The problem is, we have such sweet memories of each of those little baby books! There's one my mom sent called, "Googly Eyes," with animals on each page with these giant googly eyes. It's so silly! We have a little video of Flanna saying, "Googy eyes, Daddy?" while we're reading it when she was just one and a half or so.
Yeah, so that one's staying.
And then there are several "touch and feel" books that I remember Flannery scooting toward on her belly when she was just beginning to crawl. She was so motivated by those books! They're probably too babyish for her now, but I can just see her when she was in that "patting" stage, absorbing every bit of information those chubby fingers could find on each interestingly-textured page.
Yeah, so at least one of those is staying.
In the end, what did I manage to declutter? A lot of my old CDs that I already have in my iTunes, a few novels I haven't read in ages. And a couple of babyish movies that are probably also scratched beyond repair.
That's right. All the children's books stayed. I managed to cram them into shelves or baskets, though, so at least they don't look too cluttered.
Did I mention I still have tons of my own Little Golden books, and Stephen Cosgrove books? (Does anyone else know his work?) I just love their sort of musty smell, and the stories really appeal to Flannery, too, so at least they're getting read regularly!
This is why I can't declutter. Some objects hold too many memories, smell too much like my childhood, or will always bring to mind my daughter's chubby toddler hands flipping the pages.
And I'm okay with that.
What objects do you keep for sentimental reasons?
