Cleanin’

Last night, I spent most of the evening cleaning out the storage room in our basement and reorganizing everything else down there.  It was a trip down memory lane. 

When we first moved into our house three years ago, we didn’t have much.  It’s amazing what two people can accumulate in a matter of years.  As new things began making way into our house, all the old things made their way down to the basement.  And haven’t been touched since.

One of the things I found most entertaining was two bags of things I used to have in my bedroom when I lived with my parents.  I had a slight obsession with cars, particularly Camaro’s, at that time.  There were a number of collages I had made that featured hundreds of pictures of different cars.  As well as a multitude of posters featuring probably every single car you can think of.

There were also some collages I made.  Of course those featured dreamy guys from those days, pictures and sayings we found in magazines that we liked.  I don’t know why I have kept them all these years, and I am not sure if I should keep them.

I also have kept everything from every single class I have taken in college.  There are quite a few boxes down there containing books, notes, and papers from each and every class!  Considering most of the things I studied before going on to Nursing had to do with computers, most of the books I’ve got have already become outdated.  Then the computer parts themselves.  In addition to the THREE computers we already have in our office, there is an additional one downstairs and a whole lot of extra parts that have built up over the years.

I spent a little while browsing through pictures from when I was growing up, when Derek and I were dating, our trip to California where he proposed, and when we first got Kirra.  After that, we got a digital camera.  I found yearbooks, things from graduation, and a box containing all things butterfly.  I also had an obsession with those.  So much that I also had one permanently adhered to my back.  A Magic Bullet that had been given to me as a gift years ago.  This thing has so many parts, it needs a cupboard all for itself.  I’ve never used it, and unless I ever have a kitchen large enough that I can devote an entire cupboard to it, I probably never will.  While I like complicated things, this is a little overkill for a blender.

I am somewhat of a pack rat.  I like to see potential in everything, and usually make excuses not to get rid of it.  Derek, on the other hand, loves to get new things.  I like to use things until they can no longer be used or fixed.  He buys something, and then when something bigger and better comes out, he wants that as well.  Sometimes, this can be a problem, but most of the time we manage to agree on something.  We’ve been really lazy when it came to cleaning out the basement.  But, most of the stuff down there is useless.  I didn’t get rid of anything, but I am wondering if I should now.  What sort of things has everyone else kept from their previous years?  Obviously I will keep anything that means something to me.  I just can’t really see myself ever doing anything with a poster board covered in pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio and Camaro’s!