Why I look in the box before tossing

9 years ago

One of the boxes I recently sorted through was marked "Wedding and Move." It's probably been 20 years since I looked in there; we'll celebrate 25 years soon!

But I didn't want to just toss it. In fact, I won't throw out a piece of paper until I've read it; I open every greeting card. Here's what I found:

* a check for $15 that was a wedding present (it was inside an envelope and greeting card; can't cash it now!)

* two $10 bills and a $20 (each was inside an envelope & card; fortunately the envelope had "thank you written" on it, so I know I thanked people)

* a long handwritten letter from my mom telling me how much she thought my groom suited me (Mom died 3 years ago, so this is extra precious)

* a necklace w/ my name engraved on it, in an unmarked envelope that was sealed so the broken chain pieces wouldn't slip out

* the poem that then-8-yo Meg wrote for us as a wedding present; I have looked for it off and on through these past 25 years

I kept a manila envelope's worth of stuff, and ditched the rest of the box.

What have you found while decluttering that was precious?

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mvastian

9 years ago

Oww... That was touching. Nice to see you back Talley Sue!

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Comments (8)

quasifish
9 years ago
Always a good idea to check through a box!

It doesn't get past me that the most treasured items from the box were sentimental items and not items of monetary value. I'm glad you found the poem! How sweet :)

Not sure I've found anything precious lately, but I'm still actively working on it!
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bbstx
9 years ago
I was all ready to pitch a box without looking through it thoroughly. Sister insisted on looking at everything in the box. I am so glad she did. In our move, I had stuck my good pearls in their folder down the side of the box. That taught me to be more careful and more deliberate in my pitching. Now if I can just figure out what I did with that George Forman grill...
User
9 years ago
Such precious treasures is why I always look through everything and read everything, which of course makes any such task take longer, but well worth it.

I'm happy for you that you took the time to look this box.
User
8 years ago
Yes, yes, yes. Always go through things. I found a letter written to me by my mom the day my sister died. I had put it away after reading it only 1 time. I had totally forgotten I had it. I found it 32 years after my sister died.
cupofkindnessgw
8 years ago
Tally Sue, I've found cash too.... it's like being paid to organize. Love it!
artemis_ma
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
So far, I found the document proving my roof has been re-done within the past eight years.

I am still looking for the essay I wrote when my father avoided being on that Pan Am flight that was downed over Lockerbie a couple of decades ago, and I didn't know he wasn't on that plane until a bunch of hours later. I wanted to re-present that to him before he passed on last November. (He'd lost his own copy, but really wanted to see it again.) I still want his surviving brother and sister to have that essay.

[A day or two before that flight, he decided he didn't want to deal with London crowds during the early holiday season, so changed his flight to leave out of Manchester. Back then you didn't usually get payment penalties for switching.]
wantoretire_did
8 years ago
DH bought a new wallet and tossed the old one into the trash. I saw it and jokingly picked it up and said "I'm going to check to be sure there isn't a $100 bill in it." Sure enough, he had stashed one in there for emergencies. I got to keep it :-)

Why I look in the box before tossing

mvastian

Comments (8)

quasifish

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