borderline hoarder.

"i guess i just figured, why make something disposable like a building when you can make something that lasts forever, like a greeting card?" – tom, (500) days of summer

i have been cleaning out my room and continuing to pack, even though i technically don't have a new move date. i guess i'm just figuring that by the time all of my belongings are in boxes, it will be time to move. i don't know. but i found this box of old cards that i have saved over the years. and by "old," i mean i have cards saved from as far back as 2003.

okay. i was a freshman in high school in 2003. the birthday cards i received that year were for my 14th birthday. what kind of 14 year old thinks to herself, i'm going to save all my birthday cards this year. just because. ? although, this was around the time that i finally got my own room, so maybe i was a little overexcited to finally have my own space to store random things like birthday cards.

but then, what was my excuse for saving all of my graduation cards that i received, for my high school graduation?

i was telling T yesterday that there is just something about cards that makes me feel like i can't throw them away. but what is really the point in saving them? especially since i chose to keep mine stored in a box in my closet, which is very, very small. it's kind of like how james marsden's character in 27 dresses tells katherine heigl's character that saving all her bridesmaids dresses is a waste of valuable new york apartment closet space. except i don't live in new york. and mine are greeting cards, not bridesmaids dresses. although i do have a couple bridesmaids dresses in there.

but back to the point. since i just found my old stash of cards and went through them all, i did come up with a few possible reasons why you might want to keep the cards people give you. (because, yeah, i did end up still saving a few.)

1. to be able to see how much has changed, in a more tangible way. (example: your cousin once signed your birthday card from her, her husband, and "baby." but that baby, who turned out to be a girl, is now four years old.) (there were also a whole slew of cards from people i don't even speak to anymore.)

2. the picture on the front is pretty, and you have good intentions to possibly frame it one day. (or you have actually framed it already.)

3. it is a funny card that makes you laugh out loud each time you re-read it.

4. it is a homemade card. (these are the BEST, especially if they are from your 20-something year old sister named T and include pictures of dinosaurs that she traced using a stencil.)

5. it is from someone you love, who also wrote an awesome message that you will want to re-read.

other than that, there is no need to be wasting precious closet space. you can always just take a stroll down the card aisle at your local target if you're ever feeling like you might be regretting that you didn't save all of your graduation cards and birthday cards from the past nine or so years.