Don't you just love it when you happen upon a new blogger, with a brand new house and a garden in her dreams? The other day I had a comment from Christy, at My Garden - Our Life, so on a whim I checked out her profile, which led me to her new blog. I'm all excited about following her and her husband on their venture of making their new house a home. Check it out, maybe you would enjoy the journey.
Speaking of new beginnings, I must admit I'm a hoarder. I think it was about a week ago that I commented on another blog, saying I am NOT a hoarder, but I really am. It's just that my hoard is well maintained and hidden behind closet doors. I have a hoard of genealogy papers. I have a filing cabinet stuffed full of census, land, marriage and court records. I have an 8' (it might even be 10') shelf packed with books and binders, all stuffed full of 20 years of genealogy research. Well, I had to paint that closet yesterday, and I decided it was time to get rid of the hoard. Everything, well just about everything, has been entered on the computer, and nobody in the family is really interested in taking over the collection....and I burned out on it a couple of years ago. I decided it was time to bite the bullet and drag out the trash can. I'm printing out complete books for the two grandchildren who do show a bit of interest in it, and I will retain all photos and copies of important documents, but I'm going to donate the hard back research books and everything else will be shredded and disposed of. It hurts....20 years of work looks like a lot on paper, not so much on a computer program.
I can do this. Yes, I can.
Thank you so much for telling people about my new little blog. I have enjoyed reading your blog for so long. I actually feel like I know you! Once again - thank you.
ReplyDeleteGood for you on getting things cleaned out. Letting go is one of the hardest things for me to do. I'm sure your grandchildren will love the family history you pass down to them. I know I would.
ReplyDeleteWhat a biter sweet thought. I bet the genealogy information is interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt must be in the air. I have been getting rid of stuff too!
ReplyDeleteChristy, thank you for being a long time reader! Now, when I call you Cristy, forgive me. That's how my sister spells her name, so I'm sure I'll do it sooner or later ;-)
ReplyDeleteLike Robin and you, we have also been cleaning out. Our guest room currently looks like a hoarder's room, because that's sort of where we are keeping everything for the farm. But funny how it's spilled out into other rooms. Ugh. I'm with stay@home too, it must be somewhat bittersweet. I'm glad you are creating something for the grandkids, even if they don't appreciate it now, they will someday. I would love for my grandparents to have done something like that for me.
ReplyDeleteYour efforts are not appreciated. The information is probably faster to find on the computer. And, I'll bet you had fun searching it out.
ReplyDeleteIt is always sad cleaning something out that you have been doing for so long. I cleaned out so much when we moved. It is nice to have cabinets with space however.
ReplyDeleteLetting go can be a real discipline, too. Good for you. I keep wishing someone would do the geneaology work on my mom and dad's sides. I'm not going to, but there are great stories there.
ReplyDeleteFinding new bloggers is fun.
My dad has been doing the same thing the past 5-7 years. I would really encourage you to donate everything though; all that research could result in something really interesting!
ReplyDelete1st. Man, I cherish the few things my grandparents left for me....Grandpa's corncob pipe, a cowbell from their milk cow, his 3-legged milking stool, a couple of lovely hand stitched quilts, some old correspondence and a small daily journal.....I just hope my grandchildren find something of ours to hold dear after we're gone.
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Gardener on Sherlock Street, it was a rewarding experience. I especially loved discovering the family stories, some funny, some sad. Yes, they have all been transferred to my computer, but there's just something about holding a sheet of paper in one's hand that is more rewarding than staring at a computer monitor.
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Daphne, I'm sad because it was a shelf in a closet that's not used. Now I can have an empty shelf in a closet we don't use.
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Stefaneener, I erred in digging too deeply. I should have gone our direct lines, and not into the "fourth cousins twice removed". I do tend to not know when to stop ;-) I'm just doing the grandchildren's direct lines, with a few interesting stories of shirt tail relatives thrown in.
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Jennifer, I've been good to share with others through the years, so my research is fairly well distributed. All of the books will be donated.
Boy I feel the same as you - I have accumulated a ton of genealogy papers too - I guess I'm also a hoarder! HA It seems everything is digitized, paperless and streamlined so I guess it's time for me to do the same.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned to my husband this morning - we are in transition - to moving out into the country - so it's time to purge!
Have a great day - and I love reading your blog!
Farmer's Wife, that makes me feel better! I'm not alone....misery loves company. I'm making headway, three large binders and one entire filing cabinet drawer have been emptied!
ReplyDeleteOh my...I've been avoiding cleaning out all of my genealogy paperwork. I inherited all of my grandmother's work (pre-internet) and then started my own research (very early internet) and haven't touched it in years. I've gotten nostalgic over my grandmother's handwriting on all those family group sheets and such. Sigh. Maybe I'll get inspired to purge a little bit like you did!
ReplyDeleteDorothy, I cannot part with the hand written notes, letters, etc. Those, along with photos, are being kept in a special binder. Nobody will talk me into throwing those away! My Mother-in-law kept a daily journal for many years. That's another thing that will not leave my genealogy shelf. I haven't looked at my old records for quite some time, so going through them to figure out what to keep and what to toss has rather piqued my interest again. It hasn't helped that, out of the blue, I've started receiving inquiries again, with two new requests for information in the past two days!
ReplyDeleteMust.Not.Get.(re)Involved.
It is so hard to part with all these things that we thought were so important at one time. My DH was a hoarder and it has been difficult cleaning these things out. I have been 4 1/2 years and still haven't gotten rid of all of it. Everytime I mention to my DD that I am getting something her first comment is yep one more thing for her and her brother to get rid of when I am gone.
ReplyDeleteWilderness, Mr. Granny used to hoard newspapers. He said he needed them for the bottom of the rabbit's cage (that took about 2 sheets of paper a week). I could NOT convince him that he didn't need 6 months of newspapers stacked in the garage! I finally bundled them up and to them to the recycle bin myself. Now I watch and never let them get over a month behind before they're out of here. If I could just get him to get rid of some of his tools....I'd have all kinds of jar storage space in that garage ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'll answer no matter how you spell my name! Everyone spells it different. I even answer to Hey You, and Mommmmm!
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