31 Days of Clearning: Day 8

Day 8:  Coffee Cups

It's amazing how our memories that are attached to objects can lead to an emotional attachment to said object.  Coffee cups are another one of those things that have had a hold on me over the years. When I visited my sister in Nevada over Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and was searching for a coffee cup, there they were ... two coffee cups that I had given her oohhh so many years ago.  I'm in my 40s and I probably gave her these cups when I was in my late teens or early 20s.  I can picture them; one is tall, light in color with a blue unicorn.  The other is short and brown/earth tones with a teddy bear on it. She still had them and my heart melted.  They didn't go with her kitchen decor or other coffee mugs.  But she still had them.  There's only one reason she had them... because I gave them to her.

So, today's clearning project was much more difficult than it may sound -- I let go of some coffee cups.  Over the years I've migrated to a larger and larger coffee cup.  I like a BIG mug.  After I pour myself a cup of coffee and add the milk and sweetener, I like to take it to my office or quiet corner where I read "Our Daily Bread" and enjoy the cup while I get things done.  It takes awhile before I have to go refill the cup.  Some of the small cups that I've been holding onto wouldn't last the trip up the stairs before I'd have to go back and get a refill. So today I decided to get rid of all of the small cups that I never, ever use.  As well as a travel mug that's missing its lid.

Here's what I kept:

Here's what I let go of:

Some of these have an emotional attachment.  I gave this teddy bear mug that reads "This bears my love to you" to my grandpa when I was a teenager.  I got it back when he passed away.  It prompts a memory, but I don't use it.

Oh my gosh... this one hurts.  When Nikki was little (she's 24 now), the school would have a shopping day for kids to buy gifts for the holidays.  I don't know how they did it, but they'd have things there that the kids could afford with only a few dollars.  Nikki bought me this "Mom" cup.  If I were to guess, she gave me this around the 4th grade, so maybe 9 years old.  So I've had this cup for 15 years.  I don't use it, so I'm going to gently and caringly add it to the giveaway pile.  I hope she's okay with that ... it's actually really hard to let go of this cup.

 

And this one... it says "Mary Kay" on the bottom, so maybe I got it with an order.  But from the day that I got it, I told Nikki that the three hearts symbolized me, her and Lindsey -- all connected together.  It had a meaning that I gave it because I think I got it around the time I was grieving Lindsey.  I've always thought it was pretty, and it had a special meaning for me.

This one I believe my sister gave me.  It has Leo, my birth sign and the Leo traits on it.  I've never felt like I'm anything like what they describe the Leo to be (I think I'm more like the Cancer), but my sister gave this to me and I've probably had it for at least 25 years. How coffee mugs became something that we gave each other or that we attached a meaning to, I don't know.  But it's real and it's strong -- because I've held onto these mugs from my sis and my daughter for a long time only because they gave them to me.

    

This one I snatched from the estate sale that we had when my dad passed away.  I don't know why.  I really don't.  I figured it had something to do with my dad if we were selling it in the estate sale and I like Mickey Mouse, so why not?

This is another one that I think my  sister gave me a long, long time ago.  Oh, I would so keep it if it were only BIG. It's adorable!  I love it ... and it's from my sis.  But I'm adding it to the giveaway pile.

My informal dishware pattern is Pfaltzcraft "April" (my formal china pattern is Pfaltzcraft "Aldolphie Classic").  So I have all of these extremely like-new but small coffee cups and saucers that match the pattern.  I don't use them ... so they're outta here.

While most of the items in this cupboard were coffee mugs or coffee related, there are also some phone books.  I almost clearned the phone books but decided it's always good to have one set around just in case the power goes out and I can't go to dexonline.com or yellowpages.com.  I did, however, take out this wooden spacer shelf and I'm getting rid of it. 

Lastly, out with the orange flavoring.  My very first coffee order at Starbucks was the Mocha Valencia which is a chocolate orange latte.  To my chagrin, Starbucks discontinued this fine, fine flavor.  At one point I thought I'd make my home brew taste like the Mocha Valencias -- I never got close.  I'm guessing this bottle is at least 8 years old and it doesn't look like it was even used.  I dumped the syrup and recycled the bottle. 

Okay, if my sister ever ends up reading this blog, I just want to say that our love and memories go beyond a coffee mug.  ;)  And if you are ever doing some clearning of your own, I promise not to feel bad or take it personally if you find yourself adding two mugs to your give away pile that don't match your decor. 

Also, even though they are in the small category, there are two cups that I didn't part with.  This first one Nikki gave me maybe two years ago and the other has a pouch for a tea bag and I just really like it.