Hold on...am I an emotional hoarder

So I spent the weekend organizing and cleaning. I was fussing at everyone in the house for holding on to junk that they didn't need anymore. Books, clothes, toys, anything that they think they may possibly be able to find a use for in the future. Reminds me of the folks on that show Hoarders. Shameful.

Then I came across a few rubbermaid storage containers I have in the basement-damn-I may be a hoarder. Ya'll, I have possibly everything I have ever written since I was in the fourth grade. But in my defense, everything I write is like my baby, so it's hard to throw away my thoughts and feelings. I have every card and letter anyone has every given me. But I don't get many letters and the ones I have especially from one of my fav cousins in Arkansas help me remember good times. Ok so I may have have an hoarding issue-specifically tied to emotions.

I didn't have an issue throwing thing away at all but I didn't have a few moments thinking about what used to be and what I thought things would be at this point in my life. It was the emotional attachment-good emotions- that made me stash those things away. I didn't keep the things that held bad emotional memories, but that didn't keep my mind from wandering to the sad places that ended the good times. Why do we do that-hoard things that remind us of good memories and immediately burn the things that have bad memories?

Would we be more emotionally rounded people of we give both the good and bad equal space in our hoard? It doesn't mean we need to roll around in the emotional flashbacks but keep them near and handy to peak at may not be a bad idea. This is why we let certain people constantly come back in our lives and hurt us again, we have tossed out all the bad emotions tied to the situation and only held on to the good. I heard that's why women have babies again and again-because we forget labor pains and turn around and do it again. We hold on to the beauty of the birth, not the screaming in pain and not knowing if when you push are you pooping or peeing-ewwww.

So after the kids went to bed, I allowed myself to sit and have my moments with my hoard. Good and bad-happy and sad. Then I prioritized and threw a bunch of junk away!

I can't be the only one thinking and feeling like this. Tell me, what things do you hoard- physically and emotionally? And how do you think we can clean up our own emotional clutter?