How many of us take the time or even think about handwriting a letter today? It has been so long since I handwrote more than a brief thank-you note, I honestly cannot remember. It is easier to text, email, or type a letter on the computer and print it.
I mentioned in my July e-newsletter that I have been decluttering. I have attempted this chore many times in the past with limited success; however, I am on a tear this time.
I should have taken “before” and “after” pictures. I should have weighed how much stuff I donated to the thrift shop. I should have weighed the two recycle bins that were so heavy with paper and magazines that I could scarcely push them out to the road for pick up. I should have weighed the countless bags of trash. I shredded old documents until I thought our paper shredder would start to smoke.
My parents were in college when The Great Depression began. They had to make their way in this world on little money and no luxuries. Their background meant they instilled in me the value of a dollar and one should never throw away anything because “you might need it or be able to use it later.”
I am once again living in the house they built in 1960, so there are many boxes and closet shelves to go through now.
It is a freeing experience to unburden oneself from the accumulation of stuff. As I blogged about on July 1, 2024 ( Books read in June 2024), I was inspired by reading Stop Buying Bins & Other Blunt but Practical Advice from a Home Organizer, by Bonnie Borromeo Tomlinson.
I’m not saying this is the end-all be-all book about decluttering, downsizing, or rightsizing. All I know is that it was the right book for me at the right time.
One unexpected benefit or result of my current decluttering binge was the rediscovery of handwritten letters. If you have lost a parent and had a good relationship with that person, you have probably felt that tug on your heart when you come across something in their handwriting.
Perhaps you found a recipe your mother wrote on an index card or scrap of paper. Perhaps it was nothing more than your father’s signature on a document. My father was a structural steel draftsman, so he usually printed. I can readily recognize his precise printing, whether it be on a blueprint or genealogy notes he made, but it is special when I find his signature because it, of course, is in cursive.
In going through decades of stuff this summer, I have come across birthday cards signed by my parents, various aunts and uncles, and dear childhood friends who are no longer with us. Some have brought a lump to my throat and a sting to my eyes as tears begin to form. Those cards are set aside and not yet tossed in the trash or recycle bin. Someday that’s where they’ll land, but not today.
The lost art I referenced in today’s blog title is the handwritten letter. I have found many of the letters my mother wrote to me while I was away in college and in my early 20s when I found employment several hours from home. I was struck by the contrast between that time in the 1970s and early 1980s as compared to today.
Today parents text or call their children who are in college or have otherwise left home and struck out to make their way in the world. They think nothing of making that phone call or sending that text. When I was in college and during my young adult years it was expensive to call “long distance.” You had to have a very good reason for calling home when I was in college.
There was one telephone on the wall in the hallway in my freshman dorm. I knew if I received a call from my parents, it was probably to relay bad news or something that couldn’t wait two or three days for them to tell me in a letter. And there were no long conversations because every minute cost money.
I am so glad that’s the way it was because it means today I can reread all those letters my mother wrote. Today’s college students and young adults will not have such tangible memorabilia.
Several years ago, my sister and I helped a friend organize in archival binders and archival sleeves the letters he and his wife wrote to one another while he was in the military service as a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War. He will turn 100 years old in October. He calls occasionally to thank us again for what we did. He lives alone and the days and nights are lonely. He says he finds great comfort and joy in opening those binders and reading those letters.
We have photocopies of portions of letters one of our great-grandfathers wrote to his parents and sister while he was serving in the military during the American Civil War. How valuable those letters are to us!
While going through a box of papers last week, I came across a typewritten letter from my eldest first cousin from some 30 years ago. She was much older than I. In that letter, she shared some recollections of her mother’s. (Her mother was my father’s eldest sister and was 14 years older than he.) I had forgotten about the letter, so it was new and fresh as I read it last week.
From the letter I learned that my grandmother won prizes for her jams, jellies, canned fruits, eggs, and Rhode Island chickens. Since my grandmother died 23 years before I was born, I never knew her. However, that one sentence in my cousin’s letter gave me a beautiful glimpse into my grandmother’s life that I would not have known otherwise.
It is nice today that we can call a friend or relative and hear their voice, but in the process of making our communications so easy and instant we have lost the art of letter writing.
Do you still write letters to loved ones and friends who live faraway? Do you still have letters you have received?
For now, I’m holding on to those letters from my mother. The day might come when I’m ready to part with them, but today is not that day.
Until my next blog post
Is there someone who would appreciate a hand-written note or letter from you this week?
I will continue to go through boxes and closets and the basement. This decluttering/rightsizing thing isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. I have only just begun!
I hope to get back to work on my Seasonal Affective Disorder devotional book this week.
I hope you have a good book to read.
Don’t forgot the people of Ukraine.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
It is definitely a lost art Janet. I remember writing long letters to my friends using fine calligraphy pens and the letters looked like authentic works of art. But I reckon it is much easier now, and we all want economy of time and effort, because all you have to do is type on your mobile or portable and hit send. You do not have to go, purchase a stamp and post the letter. Of course it would be much more impressive. And reference decluttering, you are right, it would be grand to make before and after pics. I decluttered to the Nth degree at the end of 2018 before I moved back to Spain. Wow! It was unbelievable! But later I felt so free! Who needs so many things? We all think we do and we accumulate things. I had drawers that I had not even opened in years. I just tossed everything in them without even looking, after all if I had not necessitated any of those things in such a long time, it meant I never would. Useless clutter. You did well and you will feel better afterwards. I am almost finished with my book and already purchased Anne Hillerman’s second novel about the Navajo Indians. It is amazing but here in my summer place I seem to have more time, including time to read! Well, take good care, keep on decluttering and find a good book! 😊 All the best.
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I loved letter writing in my 20s. I have a box full of letters from college days. I send handwritten letters on occasion still. I love the idea expressed in the title; Stop Buying Bins… I realized a couple of years ago that the wicker boxes I bought encouraged clutter! Bravo for your continuing efforts!
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I have letters that were written by my maternal grandparents and great-grandparents, as well as various random relatives. I yet found time to sit down and try to decipher the handwriting.
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I too am wading though paper– and trying to make the hard decisions. It’s wonderful to revisit old time through saved letters, though too much at a time can bring on an overload of sorts.
It’s been a long time since I’ve hand written a real letter, as opposed to a brief thank you or something of the sort. I’m afraid my handwriting has degenerated to near illegibility.
However, I’ve signed up to do the 100 postcards for Kamala–it’ll be a challenge to write clearly..
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Deciphering the old handwriting can definitely be a challenge. What a treasure trove you have, though, in letters from as far back as your great-grandparents!
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I, too, loved writing letters in my 20s. The computer has made me lazy. Last week I enjoyed reading some of the letters I’d saved from my friends who were at various colleges. We commiserated about the parts of college life we didn’t like and dates (or the lack thereof!), etc. Can those years really be so long ago?
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Taking shorthand in high school ruined my handwriting. I have to make a conscious effort to write legibly now.
Hurrah for you volunteering to write 100 postcards for Kamala! I should do that, too.
I agree with you that reading too many old letters can bring on an overload of sorts. Too much nostalgia can be depressing.
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I tried to learn how to do calligraphy a few years ago when they had a two-hour class at the public library. I practiced for a while, but then it sort of fell by the wayside. It really is freeing to get rid of clutter and stuff we don’t need. Shoeboxes full of cassette tapes, for crying out loud! And I feel guilty now over the number of trees that gave their lives so I could accumulate all this paper! I’m becoming a bit obsessive compulsive about this decluttering. Every morning I wake up and ask myself what I get to tackle that day. The list is seemingly endless, but I’m already feeling a real sense of accomplishment. I can’t seem to find time to read, so I’m glad you’re finding the time for that this summer while you’re in your happy place. I seem to have a mental block this month when it comes to reading. Marie will be glad to know you’re working your way through Anne Hillerman’s novels. I think she’s read them all so far. Take care and enjoy the sea breeze.
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Yes, little by little clutter will find its way out of your life. I too am constantly getting rid of things I’ve no practical use for. Well, I am sure you will find time to read and write, for sure. I look forward to continuing the Navajo stories Anne’s father began, and almost finished with number one which I actually bought in 2014 en route from Miami to New York. I put the date/time/location on the back of the book… all the best to you both.
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There is also a letter from my father to my mother’s parents, written on their wedding day, that promises to love and cherish my mother and take good care of her.
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That’s priceless! How sweet!
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I wonder if a book gets better with age like wine? Glad you finally got around to reading it and that you have enjoyed it so much!
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I don’t know if it gets as good as wine, as last year a friend invited me to try a bottle of red French wine vintage 1955, and we could not drink it… But a book, will always remain fresh, I think.
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That letter is a keeper for sure.
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We started decluttering our basement and then the kitchen remodel started. The best part of a remodel is it makes it easy to declutter. Everything was boxed up and before I am putting it back I wash it, pitch what I don’t want and the rest into the basement. You are so right, it is such a freeing experience Janet! I don’t have any letters but I save the cards too, the ones with writing in them.
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My sister and I remodeled our kitchen in 2015. We were still using some pretty beat up cheap old pots and pans. We agreed that we needed new pots and pans for our new kitchen. So glad we did that! We did save our mother’s cast iron frying pan, even though we can’t use it on our “new” ceramic cooktop. I can still use it in the oven when I make cornbread, though! I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel now on your remodel. I am so sorry there were problems with some of the cabinets. You must be ready to scream by now. (Or maybe you already have!)
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