One of the most tedious things to fallout of this split and move is dealing with the stuff that we have been schlepping from place to place without unpacking. I am determined to purge as much as I can this time around which means actually opening all those boxes stashed away and labeled “keepsakes.” We have an area under the front of the house that is narrow but long, about four rows of boxes on the door side, five on the wall side, and stuff jammed in the middle, too.
First I had to get to the keepsakes. I made my way through some easy strata — equipment we don’t need (anyone want an old school overhead projector?), boxes labeled “kitchen extras” filled with things I’d forgotten, or mostly forgotten, like my Pinky and the Brain cookie jar (already sold!). Then I shuffled past the boxes of kiddo’s school work and art (that will also need to be thinned at some point) and got to about four boxes of stuff labeled as mine.
I found toys, candlesticks (and candles) an oil lamp I don’t have any particular love for but that was handed down from my father’s family, every letter I received while I was living in the UK, and an envelope full of high school notes — you know, the ones we passed to each other between classes (or in class) in the pre-SMS era.
I rediscovered some of my art, and art I’d bought (but that hasn’t been on my walls for many years), and photos. SO MANY PHOTOS. There is a box of photos — unsorted — a box of albums (pre-dating the marriage), and a box of negatives (only partly sorted). Holy hell. I have always loved taking photos so there are plenty to sort through. I have no idea what to do with these.I also found some pocket albums that aren’t yet full; I may use those in some way.
Sadly, photo paper can’t go in the regular mixed paper for recycling, and nor can the negatives go in with the plastics. There is one place (on the Mainland) that will take film negatives, but I think upcycling might be a better option. As for the photos. I dunno. At any rate it should keep me busy for a few evenings this week!
I remember seeing a project once where film negatives were turned into lampshades. When the light was turned on the images were able to be seen pretty clearly. For Kiddos schoolwork you could take photos and upload them to a Flickr album.
Yes, I’ve seen several crafty ways to upcycle the negatives; I’ve also learned that there are companies who will digitize them as a batch (a shoebox of negatives for $99, for example) — far more efficient than I could with a flatbed. I could set up my camera to do mass photos of artwork and schoolwork. Not a bad idea!