The Obsession Strikes Back

Ever feel like when you write something down you jinx yourself? When I was in Honors Psychology– a class that started prior to reconnecting with Gabe– I surveyed people to find out in what circumstances a baby-to-be would lead to marriage. The following semester I wrote an ISearch paper in Honors English 112– around the time Gabe proposed–where I looked into whether egg donation was for me or not, saying I had no intention to use my eggs. Though Gabe and I were engaged prior to becoming pregnant, I couldn’t help but find it ironic that our wedding plans changed because of a pregnancy, and obviously I wound up using an egg after all.

Though how I store things is a far cry than what happened to me/us before, I still can’t help but feel like once again I jinxed myself. Last February I shared the way I stored the bulk of my pen pal-friendly stuff, and while I still keep my letters in binders and stationery (mostly) in a file drawer, enough has changed to warrant a new post for the new year.

First of all, the “OCD book” and stamp pouch from before now hang out in this generic trapper keeper. Also enclosed are a few writing utensils, a smaller yet more organized address book, a notebook I can use paper out of, and a folder that (could) house whatever letters I have yet to respond to and the stationery/ note cards I intend to use. I like having all of these things in one place, especially if I’m ever in a situation where I want to take my supplies with me somewhere.

For several months now I’ve been on a note card kick. I have a plethora of partially used notebooks I want to finish off, so what I’ve been doing is starting my response on a note card to dress the letter up a bit, then tucking additional pages inside it and its matching envelope. It’s a bit ironic; I want to use up old notebooks, yet bought tons of note cards to do it, hehe. Prior to Christmas they all fit in one box, but as you can see, I have two boxes full of letter dressing now.

In the event I use something that doesn’t come with a corresponding envelope, I head over to these drawers as the bottom one houses all of my store bought envelopes (and ones poached from junk mail) and the middle one has some supplies I can use to make my own envelopes. Also in these drawers are address labels, my “business” cards, BIC pens, stamps like Marsh Mailow and the tools I used to make him,  and my copy of Good Mail Day.

The happy meal bucket of washi tape used to fit in the above, but the washi collection outgrew the bucket. They probably don’t need to be in a box this size, but I think when it comes to washi, it’s better to have too much room than not enough. One of these days I’ll have to decorate the box.

As I mentioned earlier, I still keep my letters in binders. What I didn’t tell you though is that the LEP members I’ve written to have a binder all their own (minus that Othella person 😉 ). I decided to separate the letters by member, keeping each member’s section still in chronological order.

I have received a lot of things from Othella over the past year– 31+ postcards, a notebook, a letter written on the back of a puzzle, etc. etc. It’s because of this stuff I decided this cute box would be better suited for the stuff that came to me from Oklahoma. At the moment it’s also storing the postcards I already know I’ll be using for her when we do the March of Postcards this year.

I feel like I am leaving something out, but I suppose I could just include it if/when my storage techniques change again. I’d like to thank a crafty maven named Jenn for asking if I had a blog post where I showed a picture of my binders because A) I realized that things have changed quite a bit since the last time I posted anything of the sort, and B) I wasn’t sure what today’s blog post was going to be until then, haha.

If any of you have a question you’d like me to answer, I’m always up for that sort of thing– you could even send it to my P.O. Box if you wanted to remain anonymous!

All the best!
Sincerely, Kate ~!~