Where did all of this JUNK come from?

So...we've been in our house now for...oh, 4 years & one month.

Yesterday: I unpacked the last of the boxes.
That's right. We still had moving boxes that we'd just never unpacked.
I finally got tired of looking at them a few years ago, and Hubby put them in the attic.
Well, in preparation for the big multi-family yard/garage sale that will be happening soon---I figured there was no time like the present to pull those boxes down, sort through them, and give*give*give away stuff that I haven't missed in 4 years.

Now, the logical part of my brain says: "If you haven't missed it or used it in 4 years, you don't need it."
My sentimental side says: "Oh, that picture was in our kitchen above our sink in our first loft!", "Hey, my dad gave me that lamp!", and "I know that I haven't worn that in over 3 years, but it was the last thing that my Mema made for me. I stood in her kitchen & held the fabric while she cut out the pattern!"

Yes, I'm a pack-rat.
I keep all sorts of things that have little value to others.
Whatever. It may look like junk to you, but to me it's a priceless collection of treasures.

Anyway....luckily, I did actually SORT through the boxes to decide what stays & what goes. If I hadn't, I'd have totally skipped over an unopened-unused-wedding gift.
Sad, isn't it? It's been almost 5 years since we got married. I found a $50 gift certificate that we never opened the card or saw the gift card or anything. Of course that means that I never sent a Thank You for it...so I'm in trouble there...but the other big whammy: I don't have a freakin' clue who it's from. I could NOT for the life of me read the writing. So, I'm just gonna throw out a big "Thank You!" to cover all gifts ever given to me & not properly acknowledged by a TY card. (Yes, readers, I am aware that I still have not sent out Thank You cards for my birthday gifts either...Let's just say I'm doing my part to be a little GREENER, mmmkay. It's not that I'm lazy or unappreciative...it's just better for the environment, dontcha think?)

What else did I find?
...oh, in case you're wondering: No, it's not a good idea to store a box of candles in your attic where the temperature fluctuates & the candles can melt. Yeah, just in case you were wondering...

So...those were some of the fabulous happenings around my place yesterday.
I've got some pretty cute pics from yesterday to upload. Gage & Daddy built a swing. It's got a wooden seat & it it suspended with bright yellow rope. The whole thing was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision. He was asking for a tire swing...but, um...surprisingly, we didn't have an extra tire just lying around... Surprising, according to Hubby, given my propensity toward attaching sentimental value to just about every inanimate object that enters my life. You can guarantee that if my path crosses with a used, discarded, can-be-suspended-from-a-tree tire in the next few days, it will be making it's way into my life. And yes, it will indeed have sentimental value. And someday, I will be flipping through a photobook with my grandsons (Max & Zack), and telling them about the day that I found that tire on the side of the road, and how dirty I got loading it into the trunk of my car, and how their Daddy LOVED that swing....

Okay....I'm back. I'm 30 again. I have one son, his name is Gage, and he does not yet have a tire swing...

.......yet.