Let
me be perfectly honest with you. I'm pretty much a paper hoarder.
Ticket stubs, programs, every greeting card EVER. I keep eeeeeverything.
All of this amazing hoarding memory saving begins
begging for a storage system (or leaning precariously, ready to crush
you in your sleep). After several iterations, I think I've settled on a
final system that is both doable and accessible. I thought I would share
in case you, like me, do not have the paper purging gene.
You
know how these things start. It first lived in a jumbled keep-sake box.
Then it moved to an accordion file. Then a file box. It just kept
growing! I needed to intervene before it became a sentient being and
started stalking me around the house.
Random box filled to the brim with wedding cards |
If
I was going to do something to permanently address this problem, it
needed to be compact and allow me to actually see what I was saving.
It's not like I was enjoying fond memories through giant paper piles. My
solution was to scrapbook. *cue Psyco horror music* Before
you start to panic, let me assure you these are not fancy scrapbooks.
The key to this system is slapping stuff down and moving on. There is no
embellishing, no fancy paper cutting. I like to think of it as just a
flat, cuter filing system.
For
greeting cards, I cut the card in half so that the writing inside can
be displayed beside the outside of the card. If there is a lot of dead
space around the interior words I'll trim it down.
I generally try to group like items or events together. Race numbers, wedding invitations, holiday cards, etc.
What
was revolutionary for me to really become efficient with this system
was the discovery of those sticky dot rollers. Holy glue stick Batman! I
flew through seven years (seven years?!?) worth of holiday cards in
about an hour with one of those puppies.
I
do still utilize some filing systems to keep everything contained until
I'm ready to stick some pages together. I have a single "Keep Sake"
folder in my everyday paper sorting station. That way as soon as
something save-able enters the house it has a designated home. I also
have a small file bin with folders divided by category for when I sort
out the everyday file box into the file cabinet every couple of months.
This might seem like overkill, but it works
for me to keep piles from forming on the counter tops or my desk. When I
have a few spare minutes, I can grab a folder and my glue dot roller
and go to town.
This
is seriously hack and slash scrapbooking. I don't own a paper cutter -
it's just me chomping those cards apart with a pair of craft scissors.
What made this a system I could stick with was the speed of assembly. I
have too many other projects going to devote hours to making beautiful
scrapbooks and not enough craft space to invest in scrapbook gear. Plus
legit scrapbooks totally intimidate me. There are some incredibly
talented scrapbookers out there! And I am not one of them!
That's right, every post-it gets saved |
So
that's my version of memory storage. I've really enjoyed being able to
actually see what I have saved without investing an unreasonable amount
of time to maintain the system. An added bonus is that this storage
solution will grow with me. Instead of needing an ever larger box or
file folder, I simply add to an album.
How do you save memories? Are you better at letting go than I am?
Thanks for the tips
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