In the December 2010 issue of Real Simple, they have an article called “5 Things to Save for Your Kids.” I though the article is very applicable to scrapbookers with or without kids. Please visit the link to the article to read Real Simple’s elaboration on each point. Here I will discuss how you might do this as a scrapbooker.
1. Insignificant objects from significant occasions.
I’m already a big saver of memorabilia. I keep ticket stubs, arm bands, playbills, bags from tourist shop purchases, and more. I don’t believe I’ve ever saved a receipt. That might be interesting. The receipt could be from anything: a trip, an important purchase, or just the groceries (I’ve expanded “significant occasions” to include everyday, mundane occasions).
2. Something mortifying from your childhood.
I have scrapbooked my childhood. Well, I have scrapbooked the photos and memorabilia from my childhood. I have not scrapbooked all of my stories from my childhood. There is one slightly mortifying story of my adventure making friendship bread by myself when I was all of ten-years old. The recipe said “beat by hand.” Well, I stuck my hands right into the bowl. To this day, my parents still mention this story. I didn’t realize that “beat by hand” meant, “stir with a spoon.” I need to create a scrapbook page about this particular moment.
3. Your practical, high-quality household items.
I have quilts that my maternal Grandma made. I have baby blankets from when I was born and when my daughter was born. What I don’t have are scrapbook pages about these items. I began completing that task before my daughter was born. I photographed each of her baby blankets with the intent on labeling each photo with who made it, who it was given to, who used it, and so on. I haven’t got that far yet. But, I do think that in addition to saving high-quality household items for future generations, recording the story behind those items is important, too.
4. Something your descendants can repurpose.
This point flows directly from point 3. Don’t just save the item, but share the stories about how the item has been used. For instance, my parents have this marble topped table in their home. My great-grandparents used to butcher meat on that table. My dad inherited because when he was small he kept running into it and the family said he “earned” it that way. Now it holds family photographs and at Christmas time my mom places a ceramic Christmas village on it that my paternal Grandma made. Not only has the item been passed down, but the stories surrounding the item have been passed down, too.
5. What you wear to work on Monday.
I love scrapbooking the everyday. I like it more than scrapbooking the extraordinary. Saving the clothes you wore to work, is valuable.
Stephanie Medley-Rath is a sociologist and scrapbooker who studies scrapbooking and memory keeping. Scrapworthy Lives is a blog focused on her sociological analysis of scrapbooking, with a sprinkling of posts about Stephanie's own scrapbooking projects.
