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WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET – and other hidey holes?

I was hunting for my insurance card in a pocket of my wallet the other day when I discovered a sticky note that my husband had given me at least ten years ago. He’d drawn a funny face on it with the words ‘I love you’ underneath. I don’t remember what the occasion was, or if there was an occasion, or why it went into that pocket, but there it was, just an old yellow sticky note with dirty edges. I gazed at it with a smile, then put it back.

In that wallet I also have a photo of my daughter and son taken when they were little, during a visit to the county fair, a moment in time that I felt back then would be something I’d always want to remember. It’s another thing that I wouldn’t dream of removing from my wallet.

It’s not like I don’t keep photos of them all around the house, or that I don’t have a collection of memorable birthday and anniversary cards from my husband. And I can’t tell you the last time I actually took that sticky note or photo out of my wallet and looked at them. So why must I carry them with me? Here’s the simple answer: because I know that if I’m lonely, away from home, feeling blue, a little piece of my family is inches away. Is that silly?

And then there’s the inexpensive Timex watch I got from my parents when I turned sixteen, that I keep tucked in a back corner of the bottom drawer of my jewelry box even though it stopped working a long time ago. I’ve had dozens of watches since that first “grown up” time piece, and I have no problem disposing of them when they’re beyond repair. But I can’t bring myself to throw away that old broken Timex.

What do you keep in your wallet — or that back corner of your drawer — that no one knows about? Are you a sentimentalist, like me, saving commemorative birthday cards, little useless trinkets made by your kids, a special gift given to you that’s no longer functional? Are you a hoarder? Or a minimalist?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Kate

11 Responses to “WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET – and other hidey holes?”

I keep all those darned savings club cards from every store known to man. With those, I have no room for sentiment! After all, I might miss out on a free coffee, bagel, a box of paper clips!

by JB on July 29th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I try to keep my wallet to the bare bones minimum. My headboard cubby is another story. I have every card my hubby ever gave me as well as those from my kids. The homemade ones are my favorite. Tucked in among them is the watch my aunt made (that doesn’t work) and the jewelry from the weddings I’ve been in. And that’s just a start!

by debbie on July 30th, 2007 at 8:15 am
I’m with JB. Mine is stuffed full of insurance cards, store cards, credit cards, gift cards, movie store cards, AAA card, etc. No goodies. Though, like Debbie, I have them all. I tuck them around the house to find them unexpectedly. Always brightens my day.

by Heather on July 30th, 2007 at 8:22 am
I save special items too. My husband is NOT a letter writer so I’ve treasured the two small notes he wrote to me when he traveled for his job. And I do keep favorite cards from birthdays and anniversaries, esp. the ones from my daughters.

by Jody on July 30th, 2007 at 8:54 am
ACCCK. All those credit/store cards! I bought a separate holder for them because my wallet was to the point of bursting. And coupons! I whipped out a coupon at Pier One the other day, very proud of myself for remembering it was in there, especially because I was going to be saving 20% on my purchase. The cashier handed it back. “This is for Bed, Bath & Beyond.”
Oops.

Kate

by Kate on July 30th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Receipts.

Billions of them.

Sadly, no cash.

by Karen on July 30th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Oh, yes—-credit cards, insurance cards, store cards, Rocky Mtn Nat Park pass, uhhhh — other “important” cards. The sentimental stuff is shoved in the back or sides of drawers & jewelry boxes. I don’t have the strength to even think about sorting through or bringing order to it all. It’s all I can do to keep on track to get rid of the “visible” clutter around my house.

And I eliminated two strange piles of clutter from one room yesterday. Yea!! Progress is slow, but steady.

by Maggie Sefton on July 31st, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Not to be morbid, but some years ago, when I worked for ABC television, I was given the phone number of a guy I was to call about a sports video production, as soon as he got back from covering the Tour de France. I never called him because he was on TWA Flight 800, which of course, never made it. I still have the slip of paper with his name and number on it. I can’t bring myself to throw it away, and it stays in my wallet as a reminder of..I don’t know, schmaltz alert…how precious life is?

by Rosemary Harris on August 1st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Wow, Rosemary. That would be quite a reminder. I don’t think I could throw it away, either. Not to be morbid myself, but I had a very hard time taking my mom’s name off my email and cell phone address book after she died. It seemed too final. Yes, how precious life is, and how quickly it passes.

Kate, on a more solemn note.

by Kate on August 1st, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Okay. So, I will spill my guts on this. I am a “pack rat.” I have all of my birthday cards from my favorite grandma and I have the very first five dollar bill I ever earned. These are my little treasures that remind me of my wonderfully difficult past.

by Jessica Schemmer on August 4th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I don’t stuff things in a wallet…but I do other places…I don”t use my dresser for clothes…well two drawers…one is for pants the other is my socks and unmentionables. The rest of the drawers (and other storage compartments in my room) are filled with manilla envelopes FILLED with autographed pics that didn’t make it into photo albums, letters from celebs and pen pals, magazine articles, whole magazines, newspaper clippings, concert tickets, and anything else I felt was important enough to keep. I even have an eraser from high school, and I graduated in 1986. I am such a pack-rat!

Traci

by Traci on August 5th, 2007 at 12:53 am

WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET – and other hidey holes?

11 Responses to “WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET – and other hidey holes?”

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