Old t-shirts, your days are numbered!

I tend to be a keeper. As a part-time historian (I say that because my interests in lit and history are usually 50/50), I keep anything that has a memory attached to it - because stuff has a history behind it and I honor that history.

But this backfires, frequently. I have stashes of pictures and postcards, touristy type guidebooks and drink coasters from several different countries, t-shirts from trips taken and groups I've been in and - almost a category of its own - things from my undergrad university. All this stuff is mixed in with the plethora of things and hand-me-down furniture from my family, mementos from childhood, stashes of crafting materials . . . I could go on and on. Over the past couple of years, closely tied in with a couple of moves, I've truly tried to pare things down. As I was talking with a friend the other night, however, somethings will be with me until I die. Mostly this has to do with books - favorite books and series are like old friends. Unless my apartment complex burns down, these are going nowhere. There are certain small things from relatives, particularly from my mom's side of the family, that may be all I ever have to remember them by. Those mementos, too, are with me for the long haul.

Then I come to things like t-shirts. There are so many old groups, vacation spots, friends, etc., that I have t-shirts from. The shirts don't fit anymore, are dingy from repeated trips through the wash, and now languish in the bottom of my dresser and an old steamer trunk. What is the purpose of that? Keeping them in that state doesn't help preserve the original memories associated with each shirt. I have pictures and old journals for that. I've seen patterns for t-shirt quilts, but I have enough blankets and quilts to last me a long time. Today, stumbling across this site - a rag knitting tutorial from cocoknits - I finally have a good solution. Old t-shirts - your days are officially numbered. One more item on a long list of stuff is taken care of, and another cluttered corner is cleaned up.