Clutter Style

I am finding, as I sort through the clutter of years gone by that I collect both on an emotional and archivist level. For as much stuff as I have from ex boyfriends to how-to advice, most of it has been organized fairly well in manilla folders and categories, into hanging files and expandable folders. Dare I say that I am an organized packrat?
Last night I spent the afternoon at my parents' house, home of just a few boxes of clutter (that make me feel really guilty) combing through things that really should have been trashed some time ago. Maybe it's because I haven't seen or needed some of these items for many years that it was a very easy purge. Maybe it's because some of the people and places tied to these items no longer mean that much to me.
I managed to find a very well organized 3-ring binder full of makeup and beauty advice from teen fashion magazines dating as far back as the early 90's. I had dutifully cut the rough edges off the ripped pages and placed them in protective sleeves. I labeled the categories as follows: Bettering the Self, Skin Care, Makeup, Nails, Vitamins, Exercise/Weightloss and Regimens. There was a lot of fairly worthless advice from the likes of Seventeen, YM and Reader's Digest. A few late 80's/early 90's pages ripped from Mom's McCalls and Family Circle Magazines. To look at me during that time period would be to know that A: this was a kid who was lucky to be naturally good looking and had pretty great skin for a teenager, but inwardly awkward and confused about her own self image B: Mom provided nutritious meals for us kids and our super-duper metabolisms did the rest, so the exercise/weightloss articles were just a reflection of where I thought I needed to be, rather than a true need for advice.
It makes me feel horrible that I let women's magazines, targeted at teenaged girls (which, for the most part, I no longer read) tell me what to worry about. I saved a few thigh-targeting workout routines (hey-I need them now!) and tossed the rest into the recycling bin. I plan on reusing the binder for recipes, as the recipe binder I currently have (and recently re-organized) is bordering on overfull. Now I just need to cook more!