I have this small grocery list I found in the pocket of my black wool sweater. Maybe the sweater is more significant than the list I wrote way back when. Somehow though, the random grocery list is an equal treasure.

When I discovered it there in the sweater pocket a few years ago, I smiled. Although many would consider it a useless piece of paper, it transported me back to another lifetime. Who I used to be: a full-time mom, with two active kids. There’s even an address jotted down in the corner, likely one of my kid’s friend’s house.

This was a phase of my life that I now absolutely treasure in a way that was impossible to while I was living it. I think they call that nostalgia.

Both the sweater and the note are symbolic

Incidentally, the sweater was one of four matching sweaters we had bought on a trip to eastern Canada, in Prince Edward Island. In a wool store we visited there, we decided to each buy a sweater as a souvenir of our trip. I wrote about that memory, here.

Obviously my kids outgrew those sweaters within a year. But mine still fits…wink (it was a little big for me when I bought it). After having stored the sweater for quite some time, I was delighted to find this little grocery list in the pocket.

One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure

At the time, I couldn’t really explain why but I kept the note in that pocket. Last fall when I was wearing the sweater, I reached in to feel the note and it was gone. I stopped short and retraced my steps and there it was lying on the sidewalk. It looked like a regular piece of garbage or unnecessary receipt.

I scooped it up before it got wet from the rain. and replaced it into my pocket.

Some people call these kinds of paper ‘ephemera’. Ephemera is defined as paper items that were meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles.

Well my little grocery list has become collectible to me.

This isn’t to say there is no distinction between hoarding and collecting. The art is in deciphering between what is and isn’t meaningful to you, personally. In addition to finding a use for these things.

Ephemera

And the interesting thing about this is how many pieces of ephemera do we have lying around our home? Lots, right? Most of it gets tossed out when you no longer have a use for it. But what if you want to keep some things like ticket stubs, receipts, airline itineraries, luggage stickers, old journals, Christmas cards…?

What to do with these things? Some people make scrapbooks, and can insert them behind plastic covers with photos as a keepsake of a special event. Or if you aren’t into that kind of thing, you can place them more randomly in journals or junk planners.

Suddenly, you have a place for that ‘no longer needed but want to keep’ paper. As an example (pictured above) I decided to honor a special memory in my junk planner. Using writing, ticket stubs and a photo, I dedicate a full page to it. Captured in this photo, I am kissing my ticket in pre-concert anticipation. Ha!

Another thing I did recently was to place all of my car related maintenance receipts in a soft covered, makeshift journal. I didn’t want to toss these receipts (which detail the work done and the problems with my car that were fixed) but they were cluttering up my glove compartment.

Now, they are secure in order from earliest to most recent work done. Most importantly they have been removed from my car’s glove compartment leaving space for, well, gloves!

What do our notes, ticket stubs and to do lists say about our lives?

So, what do our notes, half finished journals, clothing tags, ticket stubs, to do lists, calendars say about our lives? What do they even say about our goals, wishes and dreams?

Quite a bit. They tell us where we were on a particular day. They can conjure up fresh memories of what happened in a moment in time. Even emotions can be relived by looking at ephemera that may no longer have a purpose but has a memory attached to it.

When my Beau-hub and I were planning the Rat’s Nest Studio, I drew some rough sketches of how I wanted it to function inside. I kept those sketches and notes not knowing why. When I happened to find them a few years ago, I was so happy to be able to look at these again. They were the visual of my dream studio in progress. They conjured up feelings of both excitement and love in recalling my Beau-hub’s enthusiasm for the project.

Sure, I could’ve thrown these rough sketches and notes away after completion of Rat’s Nest but I’m happy I didn’t. They are now a relevant part of my art journal I have created, citing my art journey from start to present day.

Junk Journaling: a place for emphemera

Once I discovered junk journaling a year ago, I finally had found a use for some of these unique papers I had laying around. I created my first junk journal using a hard cover from my old journal, by removing the text block (original pages) from it. I then replaced it with my own signatures of gathered ephemera. In this journal I titled Birds Etc., I placed old drawings and watercolors of birds that I had done as a teen for art class. Pen and ink, watercolor and pencil drawings all went into the base of this journal. I have since added images, sketches from my earlier books. As well, cards that friends had given me mainly all with a bird, or nature theme, I’ve added.

I even re-used the original pages from the journal. Some pages I tea dyed and then once they were dry, I tore them up and used the pieces for collage.

A connection to our past

So, I think what I’m trying to say here, is that even though we no longer ‘need’ many paper items. we tend to keep them for a rainy day. We don’t know why except that they represent a time in our life—a part of us.

Finding new ways to honor our life’s ephemera allows us to remain connected to our own past whether it be recent or distant. It also allows us to honor people, events, and good times that we have been fortunate to enjoy.

It circles back to gratitude, really. And that’s another place you can put these pieces; in your gratitude journal. I encourage you to begin saving some of your own ephemera. Perhaps you have inherited your grandmother’s ephemera? Honor those papers by using them in your own journals. Paper souvenirs do no good lying in a closed box without appreciative eyes on them. Bring them into the light while honoring the person who saved them.

Whether it’s a grocery list, a medical report, a ticket stub, a pretty birthday card, a sketch— save those things and utilize their beauty.

It’s amazing how quickly we forget the moments, the years, the times we had—but keeping our ephemera can keep us rooted to the events of our lives that shape us.

Keeping our personal emphemera can keep us rooted to the events of our lives that shape us. #ephemera #journaling #memorykeeping #junkplanners #art Share on X

Pair this post with Art Journaling and Hobby Therapy-It Really Works

Do you have sentimental papers or personal ephemera you’ve been saving?