It's been a couple weeks since my last post... but I promise that I've been keeping busy and thinking of you the whole time! :)
I have been working away to close out some of those items on my 9 in 5 by 23 list, which I had started but just recently finished! Numbers 3 and 5 have been completed!
First, #3. Go through and organize all of my old 35mm prints.
When I was younger, I had a Samsung point-and-shoot 35mm camera that my grandpa gave me as a birthday gift. I took that thing everywhere with me as long as it contained film. I used it from the time I got it (I think it was for my 7th birthday) until partway through my sophomore year of high school. And it still works, to this day! I love that camera.
I only had a few albums and they were small, so I kept many of my photos in shoe boxes. One day, my dad got a new pair of CAT work boots and when I saw the box, I knew I could fit all of my photos in there! And so I did. Here's the box! The date on the front signified the last time I opened it to see what was inside, haha.
Pretty legit, huh?
I had a great time sifting through these old memories. I also went through the three randomly organized photo albums I had filled through the years and stripped them of all their photos (ruining a couple cheap-o albums in the process). Finally I had all of my photos out where I could see them (read, "... where I could seem them and see nothing else in my room").
I painstakingly sought out to figure out the month and year each photo was taken so that I could fill a new photo album with a consolidated number of photos in chronological order. It was a tedious process... O.o
BUT when I was done, I was thrilled with the results.
I bought this photo album on Amazon after researching for a few days, looking for a well reviewed, highly rated album that was reviewed as durable and attractive. I actually really, really like this photo album. It is made of durable material, and it has a simple and chic look, all for a reasonable price. Also it holds 500 (that's right,five hundred!) 4x6 photos, showing 10 photos in a two-page spread (5 photos a page), with landscape and portrait openings. I did cheat in a few places and used photo safe tape to tape some larger than 4x6 photos in, but those photos actually look good in with the rest!
I am relieved to be done with this task and thrilled with the results. I almost filled the whole album; it holds 500 photos and I have 13 slots left.
One day I also hope to digitize all of my 35mm prints to preserve them in case of a house fire, flood, etc. THAT I might have to hire out. Haha!
Next, #5. Go through the books in the garage: donate vs. keep.
When I moved back in with my parents last summer, my bookcase was a mess. They had moved it from my old room into the "guest" room and in order to move it, had removed all the books. They then put them all back in random order (random to me, at least) when it was relocated. That wasn't the only problem with it though. I had left it at home without a second thought after high school. Needless to say by the time I returned to it from college, 4 years later, many of the things in the bookcase I no longer needed/wanted. So I tossed a lot of random school papers, news clippings, magazines, etc. I also "boxed" up a bunch of old chapter books, etc. to keep in the garage. I put quotes on "boxed" because I used an old garbage can to "box" my books.
Today was a warm day, so I thought it would be a good day to check this item off of my list.
I found out that a lot of the bulk of this pile was made up of college notebooks and binders and a pile of Dog Fancy magazines from when I held a subscription waayyyy back. All of that was recycled.
There were a few gems that I found and kept, though. For example some of my old children's books that I read and had read for me, when I was learning to read. I also read these books to my sister when she was learning to read.
I'm going to keep these, in hopes they'll make it to another bedtime story time one day. :)
Also found a stack of binders that I had kept my old "art" in. Here's some fan art that I drew way back, that made me smile today when I dug it up.
A nerd then, now, and forever, for sure!!
In the end, much of the volume in that garbage can was recycled but there was a good handful of books that I thought were fit for donation. I had the first three of the Twilight saga and the first two of the Narnia series in paperback, and a random assortment of 3 generations of Nancy Drew books. I kept one really old copy of The Mystery at the Ski Jump as the only Nancy Drew book left in my personal collection.
All in all the book endeavor was much easier than the photo endeavor, but it was also satisfying. It's good to get rid of some of that bulk, especially since another move is close in my future. Slowly but surely I'll shed some clutter and this is one step toward that!
So that's two more down on my 9 in 5 by 23 list! I can't wait to knock some more out!
Hope that you're getting some of those things that you've been meaning to do, done!
Until next time, stay excellent!
- Jenny -
