You just went through spring cleaning—at least that is what all the home magazines tell us we should have done—but there are those items you can’t toss no matter how useless or impractical they are. This is what we can’t bring ourselves to throw away:
1. Too-good-to-get-rid-of attire
This stack of sweaters (a tongue-in-cheek Blarney Tech sweatshirt originally belonging to my dad and an ironically ugly sheep sweater from college) are always tucked away in the most unreachable corner of my closet, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. –Beth Kellmurray, online editor
The gray sweater was the one my grandmother wore almost every day. I just can’t part with it even though I will never wear it. –Lynn Norusis, editor
2. Witchy heels
This funky green color is just too good for me to get rid of these extreme pointy toe heels that I know are never coming back into style. –Stefanie Gans, food editor and restaurant critic
3. Mortarboard
A reminder that I did get a master’s degree, even if I’m not exactly using it. –Eliza Berkon, culture and lifestyle writer
4. Avocado Tool
Used thrice, this device proved wholly ineffective but adds color to my cutlery drawer. –EB
5. Sex and the City on Time
This Time cover used to live in my college house, but when I moved in with my boyfriend, now husband, he wasn’t into the “Who Needs a Husband?” message. –SG
6. 2003 New Yorker issues
The collection my husband would rather me not hang are these New Yorkers circa 2003; he says I need to get over it or at least not have it as the main art in the house. –LN
7. Frosty
Along with her friend Bunny, Frosty remains my first love. –EB
8. Jefferson Starship record
Though “Find Your Way Back” is an amazing tune from this album, the LP always remains at the back of my vinyl collection. –EB
9. Old-school mixed tape
This piece of plastic was the solidifier that I was old. I found it two years ago and had it sitting on my coffee table. My two sons, then 10 and 8, saw it and said, “What is this thing?” After explaining the torture of rewind, fast-forward and the expertise of hand to record, I now use the phrase “Play Record” when I’m trying to tell my sons that they need to have patience. –LN
10. Bill Clinton impeachment hearings on VHS
After school I would rush home, turn on CNN and tape the Bill Clinton impeachment hearings. For posterity, of course. –SG
11. Dinosaur wallet
I found my childhood wallet, filled with my friends’ school photos and a couple hundred bucks (!), in a shoebox with notes, movie stubs and other ephemera. Glad this didn’t go in the trash. –SG
12. Old correspondence
This box of gems brings a smile to my face every time I see the contents. With notes and diaries dating back to the beginning of elementary school, it makes me sad knowing that our children won’t have anything like it. I don’t think an iCloud “box” of texts will stand the test of time. –LN
13. ALL the magazines
My life is magazines, but I don’t literally need to be surrounded by them. We counted, and I am holding on to 637 magazines in my 10-by-14-foot office. –LN
