The Tels of Time

There is nothing like cleaning out a drawer of old files to send you on a trip down memory lane. My new project is to gradually clean out our bulging file drawers. Yesterday saw the completion of one half of one drawer. Two folders caught my interest.

“Labor Sources” has been the repository for all those business cards, fliers, articles of recommendation that might connect us to a plumber, a house cleaner, a source of mulch, or even a caterer. The little pink bi-fold above represented a business venture by my friend KC probably 20 years ago. I laughed as I said to my husband, “I think I’ll ask her if the prices are still current.” She continues to bake up a storm and has even mentioned catering in her retirement years, but I would guess the prices will be just a little higher with 20 years of inflation.

“Household Repairs” brought back a flood of memories – in some cases, a literal flood. We seem to have needed a lot of plumbing over the years. Every emergency requiring a professional came into clear view as I remembered wringing towels, renting a wet-vac, running fans afterwards. There was also the purchase of a new furnace, a new AC, carpet cleaning, refinishing the fireplace tools that I had bought at a yard sale for $25 in 1971, and on and on and on.

There is always the question of what to keep. So far I am throwing out about 75%, figuring it is just taking up drawer space.

The need for paper of any sort has greatly diminished over the past 3 decades. Just about anything we need, from equipment instructions to purchase history to labor sources, is online and much more current than anything filed away in a drawer. I will continue to pitch out all these pieces of our family history, knowing they are probably far more useful in the recycle bin!