Continuing what I started.... at some point maybe this summer (didn't I talk about having a hard time throwing away old t-shirts? Did I make that up? Don't think I did but I can't find the post... anyway) I pulled a bin out of the back of my closet and started to go through old photo albums.
I don't know what to do with photo albums in general, because they take up space, but when you want to look back through them... they're nice to have. But because my place is small, they're in a bin and I don't look through them.
But this weekend I did.
I went through them and found a lot of photos that were just... well, not necessary to keep. They weren't holding a memory or they weren't that great or they weren't anything special. So I rearranged things and ended up reducing my collection of albums in half.
Which I'm happy about.
But now I don't know what to do with the negatives!
I mean, honestly, I probably won't reprint any of those photos. None of them are anything more than snapshots, but there's always that sense of... what if.
And I don't want to just leave them for someone in the future to find and make a documentary about (as seems to keep happening of late) but cutting them up feels... mean, somehow.
So right now they're just kind of sitting there staring at me.
I cut one strip up and might make a collage of sorts out of it.
Did the same when I discovered the bin I opened had a "stamp collection" I'd forgotten I had.
I know, I know, I could probably go to the bother of selling the stamps and make a buck or two, but I don't have the patience for that and so I used the loose ones to make some cards and I'm happy with that.
The rest of them, I think I'll find someone to give them to (I was part of a kids' stamp collecting thing... yes, as an adult, shush, so they're all organized and on little booklet things and all that.)
I think there are more and more things I'm able to look at and realize I don't need that anymore or don't have an attachment to it anymore and so I'm clearing space and giving them away or whatever version of not-throwing-them-out I can figure out.
But yeah, photo negatives are kind of a tricky one. They run up against my sense of "but what if" because if you lose the photo and the negative... well, that's not get back-able. (Yeah, I know I could scan them or take digital shots of them or something but hey, that'd mean buying something or spending money and that's just more effort than I feel like putting in when I'm trying to simplify and clear out.)
4 comments:
Yeah it is kind of tricky with the negatives. When we moved the last time I got rid of literally boxes of photos from my parents place and mine. Some old family photos I gave to my cousin who's the designated family historian, some I just threw out. The negatives were a bit trickier though I agree. They take up less room so I did end up keeping a bunch. Though in hindsight not sure where or how I would even get photos made now a days. Probably costs a fortune at a specialty photo shop! :)
I think London Drugs still does them.... but now that I think about it, it's been a while... about a year? It's a strange one for sure ;)
You know what's going on there don't you? Sometimes it's hard to let go of the past and pictures are always of the past. Memories, the good and the bad. Which should you let go of? Vic, you have an amazing ability to touch nerves. Good ones and not so good ones. Your honesty stuns me, that you have the ability to put your life and heart out there. The world is a better place because of folks like you. I can't imagine how you do it. Understand for everyone who comments there are many who can't. You're real world life is important, and sharing it is wonderful. I'm sure there are many out here who feel the same way. Thank you, Michael
You're right... it's a whole lot of letting go.
Thank you for your words Michael, they mean a lot to me. Really.
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