Phebe Phillips

"Simplicity of Life Allows Freedom"

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Organizing the Past, and Walking the Remainder to the Trash

By Phebe Phillips 6 Comments

Piper the Puppy old marketing materials being organized into a memory book.

How are you dealing with piles of past paper work and memories? When my business ended I was left with 27-years of line sheets, ads, customer letters, photos, and a plethora of memories and marketing material. Ten-years-ago, I spent a weekend stuffing them into drawers, cabinets and boxes at my studio. We’re moving from the city next year, and I will not be taking all this paper junk along. I’ve found a way to clean up my past. Maybe this post will inspire others.

A Video of the Finished Project

Paperwork stacked to be organized

I set up tables in the studio last week, and pulled everything out into the open. Just look at this photo—the whole photo, foreground and background. I have stacks and stacks of this! For years this was too painful to drudge up, but it can’t go on forever—so it’s time to pull on my big-girl pants, and deal.

First, I compartmentalized everything into categories. It’s important to break it up into sections. For me that would be my couture plush line, Tweakie P. for Michaels’s Stores, furniture and accessories, customer letters, and Piper the Puppy for the American Red Cross.

I started with Piper the Puppy because it was very defined. I stacked everything about Piper on it’s own table, selected what I wanted to always remember, and began scanning documents and photos.

But what do you do with this stuff after selecting it? Right? I read reviews on photos books. Now there are many, Shutterfly, Lulu, and many others. I chose Mixbook. While all book companies are very similar, Mixbook read well for me, and their tutorial was easy to follow. I also saw a group of ladies at a Thai Restaurant looking at a beautiful travel book. It was gorgeous, so I asked about it…that’s right—Mixbook.

Each category of my past will finish in this same way.

  • Select what I want to remember.
  • Photograph and scan these pieces for creation into a photo memory book.
  • Select the best pieces to display in a glass case—along with the memory book.
  • Photo how the display is arranged.
  • Place everything to go on that display shelf in a storage box—with a printed photo of the arrangement.
  • Walk everything else to the dumpster.
  • Now, when we move into our new place my past is organized, and I display the treasures that best represent my past work.

Tune into my podcast, The Literary Catcast

Phebe Phillips, 2021
Phebe Phillips with a piece of Orgonite from Reinhard Stanjek of Ascension Tools

Comments

  1. Laura Parsons says

    September 29, 2021 at 6:18 pm

    Well, Yamqueen, here we go again with our connections!! Did you know i am a Disaster Spiritual Care Service Associate for American Red Cross? I am currently deployed virtually in Louisiana on Hurricane IDA. I cannot believe all the ways our lives have intersected through time since childhood. Let me say Im not totally surprised because we both love people, care for our communities and try to positively impact our spheres of influence. Be well Phebe! hugs

    Reply
    • Phebe Phillips says

      September 30, 2021 at 3:46 pm

      Hi Laura,

      Oh my…we continue to be on the same path. Love, Love ~ Phebe

      Reply
  2. Cecilia Glembocki says

    September 29, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    loved it so very much Remembering all of your lovely creations.

    Reply
    • Phebe Phillips says

      September 30, 2021 at 3:46 pm

      Hi Ceil,

      We had so much fun! ~ P

      Reply
  3. Cousin Carolyn says

    September 30, 2021 at 9:31 am

    Loved listening to your calm voice. Very enjoyable

    Reply
    • Phebe Phillips says

      September 30, 2021 at 10:09 am

      Hi Carolyn,

      So sweet…Love, Love You! ~Phebe

      Reply

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Phebe Phillips, 2021, Podcaster, Cat Lover, Poet, Storyteller

Phebe Phillips is best known for whimsical plush toys that filled the shelves of Neiman Marcus, FAO, and many fine retailers for 25-years. Today, she creates The Literary Catcast Podcast—dedicated to the preservation of vintage books and writings with cats as main characters, bringing them into the modern awareness of a podcast. She writes poetry and short essays for publication in journals. She has two upcoming books, Sleeping With Louie—a daughter’s soul journey as an only child of a mother with Borderline Personality Disorder, who was also an only child, and Upper East Side of The Pines—growing up in East Texas during the sweetness of the 1960s. She is married to Mac. They live with six cats! For now, they live in Dallas, Texas until they move deep into the East Texas piney woods in 2022.

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