I, like most people, have an inordinate amount of Stuff. They say that as you move into bigger spaces, you accumulate more Stuff to fill that space. This is true. As the daughter of a notorious Pack Rat, I have to struggle not to keep Stuff. I, unfortunately, have a room in which I am able to keep Stuff. The spare bedroom, which is only so by the graciousness (or 'I need to store this!) of Leah, is where my Stuff usually ends up. I am in the process of cleaning and organizing this room, so I have room to put a desk for my new computer. (Internet Thursday! My first order of business will be downloading AIM, but my second will be a Very Special Post. Stay tuned.)

I am not quite sure how to arrange the room, but my head will figure it out. After all, I did come up with the ingenious arragement for Lew's bedroom that avoided using the loft and having to carry that 800-pound bed somewhere else. I got quite a bit done yesterday, though I got started on my financial records and they're still all over my living room floor. I've been unsatisfied with my current filing system for quite some time, but when I saw Mike's, I was downright jealous.

It's also amazing at how caught up you can get reminicsing about the things you kept to remind you of them. Newspaper clippings, awards, seashells, ticket stubs, brochures... My memory isn't so hot, but these things help the memories back to the surface. I even found my paper dolls. I remember spending hours with those dolls, changing their clothes, acting out scenes. Remembering that far back made me feel peaceful, if just for a moment, like I was a child again, with none of the cares or pains of today.

I'm getting better at not keeping Stuff, only keeping the things I need or the things that hold memories. If I lost them, I wouldn't miss them, because I wouldn't remember them, but at the same time, I would lose something. Something intangible. As time goes by, it's easier to figure out which items hold real sentimental value and which can be gotten rid of without fuss. Even clothes hold this problem for me. I went through a lot of boxes yesterday. "Why am I keeping this?" "This is so out-of-stlye. Will it come back in?" "I'm never going to wear this again, it's too short." "I had my senior pictures taken in this outfit. I'm not ready to get rid of it yet." "Hey, this is cool." I'm actually wearing my bar pants today. You know, those black polyester pants that were so ubiquitous a few years back? They still fit. All right! [/Quagmire]