It stated out innocently enough. We wanted to clean out the high, kitchen cupboard over the stove. It has an exhaust vent pipe for the range hood running up the center and is fairly difficult to reach. A linear foot and a half of old cookbooks seemed a waste of space. I cannot remember either of us ever looking at one, although some have moved with us for years. A case in point is the image to the right. I know that it had been my mother's but I don't know how it got out here. It must have travelled from NH to the Middle East and then out to the west coast in shipping. Many of you might not even know what the Grange was. The recipes, however, were printed in 1975 a year before the US bicentennial.
For some reason the act of going through the cookbooks led to a little spring cleaning, although the season might seem a bit off sync. I found a box in the closet that contained the knickknacks that would not fit in our curio cabinet. Most hadn't seen the light of day in years and it seemed silly to keep some of the stuff in there. I suppose a memory left here is more accessible, and certainly more space effective.
I couldn't bear to part with some items, of course. Yet, really what is the point in keeping a plastic puzzle game from the early 1970's? Or patches from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE during my employment in the 1980's and 90's? Even a name tag from my first job in Canada is for a school which no longer exists.
Honestly, it's better to keep such things virtually. It make more sense to take a photo, then toss the object. I have to remember this, stick to it, and act on it.