Basement Exploration: Unearthing Trash and Treasure

My parents' neighborhood is having a community yard sale tomorrow and so my mom asked me to help her clean out the basement yesterday to see what we could sell and get rid of. It ended up being way fun and seriously daunting. The memories! In everything! "Awww look at this lone doll shoe, I remember this. It's totally useless but can we really just toss it?" Actually, I wasn't too bad, and there were only a few things I couldn't bear (he he see below), to get rid of.

We probably would have gotten more done, but I had to stop every three items and take a picture. I couldn't help it, it was just such a bloggable activity.

So now, in a post I'm sure I will regret, please join me in an picture-ific journey through my parents basement and my past.

First up! The Berenstain Bears:



I remember us having the son and daughter bears too, but didn't see them when we were going through the basement. The minute I saw these two, I was like, "Oh man, we can't get rid of them!" My mom found a Berenstain Bear book too and promised to save it all.

Ribbons



What will twelve years of competitive swimming get you? An appreciation of team sports, love for the smell of chlorine, and hundreds of ribbons. Third places were my specialty. I threw a few out yesterday, but admittedly tucked a small box of them away to decide on in the future.

Barbies



Ah Barbies. The older I get the creepier they seem. But man did I have a lot of good times with these gals growing up. I would play with them for hours! And yet, I feel no real need to keep them. Into the yard sale bin they went.

Trolls



You know those memories from your childhood you surpress? My troll collecting was one of them. Yep, I'm owning up to it. I collected trolls. And some lucky boy/girl/grandma tomorrow can now be the proud owner of a Christmas troll, Dewey beach troll, and random naked troll.

Whistle collection



Every well-seasoned lifeguard knows that you always need a backup whistle on hand (for when you whip the first one into the pool when the twirling gets out of hand).

Washer/Dryer, Salt/Pepper



I realized yesterday that the washer and dryer in my dollhouse growing up were actually kitshy salt and pepper shakers.

Porcelain Doll



Doesn't every basement need a creepy doll or two? I love how my cell phone captured the especially creepy lighting on the doll's face. I love you grandma, but you definitely owned a number of creepy things.

Glamour Shots



Yep, I totally just shared this on the internet. My mom and I in a Glamour Shot. I showed these to my roommates who responded "Wait, like in Napoleon Dynamite?" and "Oh. My. God. I want a copy of this."

Honeymoon panorama



My Dad took these pictures of my mom and him when they were on their honeymoon (put them together and they make a panorama). They have these prints but have never framed them. I stole them and intend on framing them sometime soon (they took them almost 35 years ago, what's another 6 months?)


Jackpot
The best part of the evening was finding a large plastic treasure chest bin of high school memories. Boxes of notes (that went unintercepted in class), overflowing journals/scrapbooks, and a sweeeet collection of mix tapes. When I opened the lid to this bin, I swear I heard some angels singing. My mom suggested I take this collection with me (to free up another corner in the basement), but I was wary to do that. A) These are way too valuable to leave vulnerable in my house and B) Oh my lord if my roomies got a hold of some of these dairies, it would be all over. Check it out:

Diary 1 (of 15?). Decorated in the Lis style (i.e. Decoupaged in uber girly ads and phrases from magazines). This one covered a few years in high school, so it was about the size and weight of a phone book (I had a lot to say... about not very much):


Mixtape Box (also decorated in the Lis style):


Bjork Mixtape from Sean. I know it's hard to tell here, but he carpeted the case. If you know Sean, this totally makes sense.


A mixtape from Crystal. Seriously, I can't ever get rid of these, even if I no longer have a way to listen to them.


I could go on. I took a handful of other pictures (of trophies, and dolls, and stuffed animals), but I think this is a good enough representation of what I found. We're definitely going to have to do this again in the future. Who knows what else lays unearthed?