Where do you draw the line between sentimental value and junk?
I thought about that yesterday after a little flurry of emails with Gene that started with the quote I put at the bottom of my emails this week. The quote said, "What's wrong with sentimental? Sentimental means you like stuff."
Gene's comment was, "Put your treasures in heaven . . . "
To which I replied, "Well, yeah. But in the meantime . . . "
Gene won the debate by quoting a statement his father made when he was cleaning and organizing his stash in the garage, "I sorted it twice and it's still junk."
There comes a time when you cross the line from being sentimental to being a pack rat. Some people subscribe to the idea, "If you haven't used it for a year, throw it out." My German heritage runs far too deep to adopt that philosophy. My house does not contain as much junk as the garage, but I must admit there are some things I could do without.
Yesterday I cleaned the bathroom and found a little bottle of Num-Zit--a teething lotion I rubbed on the gums of my first child 39 years ago when he was getting his first teeth. Why have I kept it all these years? Why didn't I throw it out yesterday? Does it have sentimental value or is it junk?
If everyone threw out all their old things there would be no antique market and we would know nothing about our ancestors. How do you determine what is worth keeping and what is junk?
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