The Story of The Junk Life Cycle

How Old Receipts, Memorabilia and Paper Junk Lives On

This is how the JUNK LIFE CYCLE works. You save decades of folders, envelopes, shoe boxes, suitcases and shoppings bags filled with old receipts, invoices, statements, photographs and memorabilia. To get them out of your way, initially you hide all this paper junk into old desk drawers, bureaus, cupboards and closets. If you are lucky enough to own your own home, you eventually transfer all this stuff  into larger boxes which find their way into an attic, basement or garage.

Liquidating Saved Receipts and Old Papers 

Next, you call upon your adult children, grandchildren and perhaps even great-grandchildren to come visit and look through the boxes and bags of stuff you have saved in the basement, garage and attic. Unable to part with too much at this stage, you cut a deal with family members to take all this paper junk back to their own homes.

Now the folders, cartons, bags filled with old papers, photographs, memorabilia end up in a new house, landing first in closets, empty desk drawers and spare bedrooms. Eventually however, the piles and collections will get re-located to a new basement, attic or garage so that "in the future" additional sifting and purging might occur.

Waiting For A Rainy Day To Unload Saved Papers 

The day of liquidation never really comes. But the stuff does get shuffled again and again when a new keeper of the old papers wants to downsize to a smaller place and unload the load.

How The Junk Story Ends

One more time, all the stuff once in closets and desk drawers, comes out of the basement, attic and garage and finds its way into the hands of a new generation of  hoarders who are happy to take custody of the paper STUFF and pack away into more drawers, corners and hiding places before transferring all this junk down to a basement or stuffing into an attic or garage.      
Readers if this sounds familiar or you wish to add your experiences to this blog, pleae feel free to leave a comment. 

Photographs taken by C. Dianne Zweig at Stratford Antique Center in Stratford, CT and Seymour Antique Center, Seymour, CT

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists