spring is just around the corner. which means spring cleaning is on it's way. this year, i say BRING IT ON. there is so much around our apartment that needs to be purged, cleaned and organized. all the sudden, i have the energy and the desire to get it done. leaving college left kevin and i dragging around multiple tupperware bins full of stuff. (okay..so it's mostly me, but he has some junk too!) it's all things we accumulated over the 5 years at oregon state--some we want to keep, some we want to get rid of and some stuff we don't even know what to do with. our entire guest room/computer room is filled to the brim with bins, boxes, clothes, luggage. it'd be nice to actually be able to get to the other side of the room without feeling like you've entered an obstacle course. so my goal is to purge, clean and organize. i think this major room overhaul will call for a trip to one of my favorite places -- THE CONTAINER STORE :) besides target and crate & barrel, the container store makes me positively giddy. almost as giddy as martha stewart products (not the woman herself).
anyway, the reason for this post is because last night (while glancing through an old journal) i came up with a brilliant but scary idea. i have boxes and piles of journals--most of them only half-full mind you--from junior high, high school and college. my plan is to transfer all of my writings into one book and ::gasp:: purge all the original journals. is this an idea that sounds great now but that i will regret later? will i want the original copies? or will it be a freeing experience? one day, will i want to look back on all of the artwork and handwritten scribblings of a "woe-is-me" teenager? or will i feel content in knowing that i still have those thoughts, but that i've moved away from them towards bigger and better things? you see, i am a very sentimental person, so to me this is a scary decision. not to be taken lightly. i just think it's ridiculous to be carrying around bins of old journals. but on the other hand, it's like i'm throwing away a part of me. and once it's done, i'll never get them back again. so i need opinions...anyone have any? i'll even take alternate suggestions or yay/nay answers. basically, i'll take what i can get. i just can't make this decision on my own. please help.
i would scan the pages. at least that way, you preserve your scrawls and scribbles. there's something comforting about seeing your own handwriting too. i wouldn't ever type them up or anything- you'd lose too much. so my thought, scan them. once you've scanned all the pages, go build a really beautiful, professional book at blurb.com (upload them as photo files).
ReplyDeletePass over the journals right now. Throw out some other stuff and then come back to them and think again. In 10, 15, 20 years (who knows), printed or handwritten materials will probably be a thing of the past as EVERYTHING will be digitalized. It might be fun to show your kids someday what journaling was all about. Besides, once you are a famous writer. those journals will be priceless!
ReplyDeleteWow that seems like a lot of writing! If you have the time and patience to do something like that, I'd say do it! But I also like Rea ann's suggestion :)
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