I love this mug!

Below is a fun picture mug that my sister sent me after she had her first child – the niece that made me an aunt! And it’s been sitting at the back of my cupboard for a couple of years now because I broke it. Snapped of the handle and put a huge crack down the side.

My oldest niece.

I’ve already pointed out my propensity to break dishes before. I don’t discriminate. I break wedding china, wine glasses, and sentimental mugs. This is not the only sentimental mug I’ve broken either. I also broke a couple of the ones that I took from my godfather’s farm after he died.

Hey you...Hands off my Aunt Jessie's Mug!

But what do you do with a broken mug you can’t bear to throw away? This was one-of-a-kind mug. There is no other like it. Every time I drank coffee out of it while studying in college and graduate school, hundreds of miles from my family, I felt closer to them. Then one day I smashed that connection.

I suppose this should be a reminder to pick up the phone or write a letter, huh?

Anyway, I don’t think I want to set it on my desk and put pens in it, or to try to grow a plant in it, so is there really anything else to do with it besides put it back up in the back of my cupboard?

You don’t want me to *gasp* throw it away, do you?!!!

What would you do with it?

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Check out last week’s Keep or Purge :: Purple Gift Bag and Tissue Paper

I go through this one a lot – gift bags and tissue paper.

I got this little baggy at the farmer’s market when I bought a locally made lavender hydrosol. When I got home I almost dropped it in the trash after I took out my purchase, then hesitated as I imagined re-gifting it, with a little goody, to someone else.

FYI – it’s not very big, just 7″ x 5″ x 3″. Good for small items like essential oils and jewelry.

I tend to fold up pretty tissue papers and bags and keep them on a closet shelf. I do reuse them when I’m wrapping gifts and mailing packages to people. Then every time I move (which has been far too often), I purge a few of the extras.

At the same time, I’m not sure I’d miss it if I got rid of it up front. What would it have hurt if I had just thrown it away immediately? What would I have gained?

What would you do?

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Check out last week’s Keep or Purge :: Greeting cards.

Greeting cards. Cards for birthdays, holidays, wedding showers, baby showers….

I have a hard time throwing away something that someone else gave to me. Often these are bought and given without much thought, sometimes they have heartfelt, handwritten messages inside. Occasionally they will be handmade, like the one on top of the stack.

What do you do with them?

Kevin James has a bit about greeting cards:

I have to say my opinion of them is mostly like his “man’s” view of greeting cards as opposed to the “woman’s” view. I dunno. But I still find it hard to throw them away. I mean what is the proper length of time to keep one before you throw it away?

Do you keep them in a bin like this? Do you recycle them into various craft projects?

Once I saw a beautiful silver card rack on a blog. It was from Pottery Barn or something, but I couldn’t find any when I Googled it. There are specialty ones for Christmas, such as wire trees, wreaths, and curly wall displays. This blog has a post about displaying, recycling, and keeping a select few. Do you display them and then toss them?

What do you do?!!

Please vote and leave your comments below.

Check out the last Keep or Purge :: The Rocking Elephant.

And now, the counterpart to last weeks vintage rocking horse.

This was my rocking elephant. My mother can’t remember who made it, but somebody did. It’s missing one of it’s rocking legs. I’ve been moving it from house to house with the leg, but I don’t know what happened to it in the last move.

It turns out that our neighbors like to refinish furniture and have a store, so I might ask them to fix it up for me. What do you think? Should I keep it? Should I get rid of it? Is it garbage? Should it go to Goodwill?

Please give your opinion and comments below.

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Check out last week’s Keep or Purge :: The Vintage Rocking Horse

This is week three of Keep or Purge :: Trash or Treasure. I thought after posting two paper items, that had questionable value, I’d step it up a notch and post something that has a lot of sentimental value, and for some people, possible monetary value.

This was my older sister’s rocking horse. It spent many years in the machine shed of my godfather’s farm, then was passed on to me when he died. My sister lives several states away and we’ve never even discussed whether she wants the rocking horse. I had it in a storage unit that I spent money on for over a year, and since I got married four years ago, it has followed us from house to house; garage, to basement, to garage.

I’m not planning on getting rid of it at this point, but I don’t exactly know what to do with it either. Do I somehow display it decoratively? Surely I don’t actually let my son ride it! It seems dangerous!!!

What would you do with it?

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Check out last week’s Keep or Purge :: Magazine Insert