For real.
I got back into my decluttering project that I wrote about before and have worked at on and off since. I'm taking a dear friend's advice in my method of tackling a very... erm... delicate portion of this job.
My childhood 4-H awards.
I've tried ignoring them... they don't go away. They don't take up any less space. And they just don't shut up about my competitive strains.
But I was saving them for posterity, right? Nathan said, "Well, would you want to paw through and deal with all this stuff if it were your Mom's?" Mmm... nah. But maybe my Grandma's! It would be Cool Old History Stuff then. "So you're gonna save them until you die?" he reasonably asked. Right. Point taken.
And anyway, look... I am showing it to posterity.
And that little Posterity is having a blast playing with all that stuff. He's currently wrapping the "aminals" in "blankets" and putting them to sleep.
He pointed to this stick in this Handsome Gold-colored Plastic Showman's hand and said, "That thing right there is a Killer. For killing."
Oookay. Moving on.
He made the chickens and rabbits talk.
He called the goat a "sheep". And asked about her "milking things."
He's been rearranging them and playing imaginative things with them all afternoon.
I Googled around for a while, trying to find a use for these paraphernalia. Among the ideas I came across were "make Christmas tree ornamets" (ooooh... classy. We can pretend the little men with sticks are shepherds...) and "make a ribbon quilt" (and then...??? Put it on my bed?).Nothing reasonable has presented itself.
So after I got up the guts and carried it all downstairs laid it all out and gagged just a little, I began following my friend's advice. She advised me to "Take a picture!"
And then... throw it away.
The venerable Posterity will have a record, and I will have some space back.
This (and another like it) are probably the only things I will keep:
Are you ready to see the most disgusting photo?
Brace yourself.
It's... well... intense.
Aiee. Now I'll just take a couple shots of whatever hard liquor is sitting in my pantry... and grab a black (extra large) trash bag.
Posts
Oh my goodness.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what to say.
You took some hard copies didn't you? Good thing I have lots of pix of you in your show clothes posing with your animals and those ribbons.
Good memories of your accomplishments.I guess it's good you are moving on. There will be many more I'm sure. (accomplishments)
(And your sister is blubbering about it. I wan 'em!)
So, dearest only loving beautiful sister.
ReplyDeleteI. Want. The. BELT BUCKLES.
You know, Christmas is coming up....Or ever heard of reformation day presents? Or thanksgiving presents? "Gee, thanks sis!"
Ya coulda seen if the extension office wanted recycle them, very environmental. (they would just have to take off the plaques that said what year)
oooorrrrr, you could have at least cut off the tops of the trophies and used them as toys for Jonah or SOMETHING.
JEES, WHAT A WASTE. Ya might as well not have gotten them...
I WANT THOSE BELT BUCKLES.
Applauding you
ReplyDeleteIt's not that cool. I mean, it's cool when you're 14. But c'mon. Taking up space for what?
Okay, Sister Packrat-- for the record, I disassembled them, took out the metal bits for Nathan and scrap, and Jonah has claimed all the little animals. And I don't know what to do with the chunks of marble... Then they were just a pile of plastic junk-- easy to pitch in the bag.
ReplyDeleteNo go on donation/recycling.
And seriously-- I have TONS of pictures and wonderful memories of my 4-H years. I now have pictures of the pile of awards. Why would I keep them? I need my house. Would I ever display them? Of course not. I don't even ever look at them. They served their purpose. I do lament that they're on their way to a landfill, but that's just the idiocy of our current waste disposal system. Such is life. It's just stuff.
And what would you do with a belt buckle saying "Grand Champion Dairy Goat Showman" from the year that you turned, uh, six?
Also-- I love you. You crack me up.
BECAUSE IT WOULD BE COOL.
ReplyDeleteAt least, I would wear them, YOU WOULDN'T.
Big belt buckles just aren't your style. Aren't mine either but I can make it work.
A) I would TOTALLY wear a dairy goat showman belt buckle. In fact, I need a new belt buckle and that would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteB) All my horse 4-H ribbons are on a hanger in my moms closet. Surely not as many or as bulky as your awards, but they'll be there for posterity... and not in my house.. hahaha.
Good work on decluttering. Hard, but good for you, right? :)