Packing n cleaning woes

I never disagreed that I am a pack-rat. But the impact of it never struck me before..

In India, when I ran out of space in my 1st cupboard, i was given 3 more..i did de-trash it once in a blue moon, but mostly the cupboards were brimming with engineering files, writeups, printouts and datasheets - which I was too superstitious to get rid of.

Here, when it is time to pack up, to be even able to pack, I first need to de-trash the suitcases! My mom, like any other mom, is the epitome of anti-clutter personality. She has a simple motto- if you need it in future, keep it. In my case, following her motto was fairly easy..i have a box full of publix and walmart receipts :( The recycle bin will next hold gift wrapping papers of my send-off gifts, the chocolate wrapper of my birthday/valentine cadbury etc etc. Again, my mom's voice quips in my head: memories dont lie in those objects, but in the time spent together.

I can now fully grasp why my friends booked tickets to India a week after their exams :)

The end result- Am I happy? I will spend the whole of the next week worrying about what all could I have lost when I was too brutal with scraps of paper. Chucking the grocery bills barely made a dent, but at least i made a teeny-weeny dent :)