What’s this all about?

I’m trying to look more critically at the stuff around me, the things I hardly notice anymore, and to ask myself whether I really need to keep them any longer. Do I really need to keep the quilts I sewed for my daughters when they were babies? (Yes.) Do I need to keep that pale blue top sheet that I never ever put on my bed? (No.) How about the half dozen frayed bath towels that we keep here and there in the basement to mop up this spill or that mess? (Maybe.) What about the papers and forms and diplomas I inherited when my grandfather died or the collections of photos of each of the students in my grandmother’s second grade classes? (I have no idea.)

My plan is to winnow something twice weekly. I’ll take a photo or scan the thing if it’s flat and then let it inspire me to write something. I want to create a collection of memories instead of things I have to dust or move around or squirrel away in some other corner. Some things I’ll trash or put in the giveaway, others I’ll burn, but the things that I think you might want, I’ll set aside so you can claim them if you like.