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Organizing the Home

It is still ok to throw things away...

concretenprimroses

10 years ago

I found an old 1986 calendar and am using it again
I had saved two calendars that were put out by local artists - 1985 and 1986. I found them in a trunk with some other keepsakes while in the process of cleaning out a closet and getting rid of clothing. As I looked at the pages and admiring them I realized that the dates in May 1986 were the same as now!

Now I have to be careful not to see this a proof that I should never throw anything out!
Kathy

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Comments (7)

grandmamaloy
10 years ago
Hahaha! How strange! Are you going to save them for the next 28 years until the dates are the same again? You might want to do a little research on that artist too. You might have a treasure (either now or if you save them for the next 28 years :)
And yes...keepsakes are one thing, but if you have clothing you haven't worn in a year...time to donate it or throw it out. That is my rule anyway. Enjoy your calendars! That is SO cool!
talley_sue_nyc
10 years ago
That's funny!

Yeah, try not to let this persuade you that it's worth holding on to stuff until it's useful again.
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This is a great thread! I know my clutter keeps me from being able to fully enjoy my home. My garage becomes the dumping ground when company is coming over. Parts of my house and garage are overwhelming...... The work bench is covered with little bits that need a home; screws, washers, nails, etc. Reading this thread gives me the hope that I can decide to just junk it! 2 years ago when my son was first going off to college he told me he just couldn't bring himself to throw out all those school papers from years gone by. My advice to him was to make a stack of what he wanted to keep, scan it and throw out the paper copy. I told him that by the time he had done 10% of the stack, he would decide that about 90% of the remaining stack wasn't worth the effort to scan and would just pitch it into the recycle bin. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at following the same advice I gave him. I want to keep tabs on this thread and continue to be inspired.
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Like Netla, I try to wait a few days/weeks after I have found a new title and before I buy it. (Most of the time the urge leaves, and most of the time I can wait. Not easy sometimes though... And just discovered adding to the Wish List at amazon! That's a whole new world right there.) I think that the article about the TBR pile had resonated with me as I had been struggling a bit with a small and informal challenge that I had set myself. Numerous other bloggers were implementing the "TBR Challenge" whereby from Jan 01 until Mar 31, one doesn't buy a book or get a new title from the library. You can "only" read what's already in your possession and in your TBR pile. I had been doing ok with that, but then the challenge started to chafe me a bit and so I caved in. Still, I did do the TBR challenge for about 5 weeks, and removed a few (six) titles from the TBR mountain. In doing so, I learned that I am not that fond of limiting what I can read! So - the challenge is no longer an issue (as in I'm off it now), but it was good whilst it lasted. I became more aware of the book selection that I have already on my shelves and I realized how much I loved my local library! And, like Sheri, I have become better at DNFing any titles that aren't working for me. Off with their heads and into the charity pile they go!!
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jannie
10 years ago
My Mom did exactly that-she had bought a bunch of kitchen towel-calendars over the years, and carefully washed and stored them after the year was over. Of course they were meant to be used as dish towels, not to save for the next time that year calendar pattern comes around. She would hunt through her supply in January and see if she could re-use a calendar!
cloudy_christine
10 years ago
I always reuse calendars. I have a collection of beautiful art calendars and I look up what I can use every year. Occasionally I buy a new one. This year, 2014, is the same as 1997 and 2003, so I had a choice of which one to use. John Singer Sargent won.
It's a complicated pattern. The 2014 year comes up again in 2025, but last year's comes again in 2019.

Here is a link that might be useful: calendar correlations
talley_sue_nyc
10 years ago
I couldn't reuse a calendar because I only buy one, and I write all over it.

Having a single calendar to record things on is actually an organizing principle. One list, one address book, one calendar, one place to look.

I don't use calendars as decoration, and I don't use them just to hang on the wall so that I will be able to tell what the date is. Mine get scribbled all over.

Now, I did actually save the calendars as a scrapbook/family history thing. But I've found that I don't actually look at them, so I don't do it as much. (If someone ever wants to write a biography of anyone in my nuclear family, they will have spotty records.)
sherwoodva
10 years ago
I agree with Talley Sue. Our appointments, social events, and trips are on the calendar, along with reminders for birthdays, etc. At the end of the year, I transfer the annual things (birthdays, national craft show, time to get the car inspected) to the new calendar.

We only use one. We get a lot in the mail, but donate the others.
concretenprimroses
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for that calendar correlation site Christine. I have a few others that I saved for decoupage then didn't use for that. If any of them come up in the next two years I might keep them to use one more time.
Kathy

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