Junk or Treasure?

What's the saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure". 

Which one do you have hidden away in a box in the basement? Most of us have things we've collected and saved over the years even if for a brief period of time. Birthday cards, xmas cards, pictures the kids drew or painted that have had their time on the refrigerator and now must move on. What to do with them. Often they go into.....the box. 

What happens when the box is full?

Does your box get emptied so that it can be filled again? Or does your box make its way to the basement or attic to collect dust while a new box is filled with treasures.

It seems odd doesn't it. At the time items go into the box they are always considered treasures, why else would they go into the box. There are of course those items that you're just not sure what to do with,....so....into the box they go. 

However, when the time comes to go through and sort the contents of the box it's amazing how much of it is...well junk.  Treasure going in, and Junk coming out.

Kind of like when you sit down to eat. The food on the table is dinner and 10-15 minutes later it's garbage.

My sister recently packed up her basement for a move. What did she find in those dusty boxes. I'm sure she found lots of junk, but she also found lots of treasures. In fact she bundled up the treasures and sent them to people she thought would have fun looking at them again.

I got my bundle in the mail. As I looked at the items I laughed out loud, I cried, I shook my head thinking "what the heck is this all about". What I had received were old letters and pictures that I had sent to my sister when I was a small child - and she had saved them.  Yes she had saved some of them for almost 35 years.

You know the kind of letter only a third or fourth grader can write, using a different color marker for each line in the letter. There were also the ones that I have no idea what I was writing about and neither does she. Hopefully, it made sense to her then, if not she never let on.

There was the one that appears to be spilling the beans about my mom being pregnant with my little brother. And the one that I wrote during English class (hey, at least I was writing) where I tell her "Don't ever show this to Mom, she'd be so mad at me if she knew I was writing this in school".  Oh, for heaven's sake! 

They were fun to read. And it gave me pause to think...
I hate clutter, I like my house clean and I like things in their place. That is not to say that there are times when stuff piles up, after all life happens. However, in my future decluttering I will have to think twice about throwing away that old letter or card that I received. Perhaps it needs to be saved a bit longer.

You never know when a trip down memory lane will be just what you need.