Keep a journal and have a tidier house…
Forgetfulness & nostalgia characteristics lead to hanging on to collections of things which need to be stored somewhere. Reading the Messie Collection by Sandra Felton has lead me to realise that memories from my past should be in my head rather than in boxes of old junk, letters, books, ornaments etc. but because I am so forgetful I have held on to them longer than is necessary. I don’t actually need all of the biology text books I used during university but there they are on the shelves outside my bedroom on the landing requiring space and general maintenance (dusting), making the house looo full and cluttered when I’d prefer to live in house which feels spacious and clean.
According to Ms Felton if I were to keep a journal I could hold my very personal hopes, fears and feelings in one small book rather than piles of things which are a pain to pack & unpack each time we move house.
I kept a journal for about 5 years and I do recall that it was a wholesome way to end the day and months years later I was able to find detailed records of who went to which party and what we all wore. I can see that while my children are still very small it would be an excellent way of recording the thousands of cute things they say which you think you’ll remember but actually forget as soon as they stop saying it, how things that are SO irratating one month are barely remembered the next (potty training for example).
I’m going to look out for a nice chunky notebook - nothing with dates in as that just means you have to limit yourself to one side of writing and it makes you feel v. guilty if you don’t write each day.