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The other day I found a photo of the cast of a play I was in. Taken in the winter of 1999, we were gathered around my car on our way to another elementary school. As I reminisced over our smiling faces and recalled the name of each actor, I noticed that we stood in a parking lot behind a gas station. The sign facing the interstate touted the prices: “Unleaded, 88 cents. Premium Unleaded, 93 cents.” Eighty-eight cents for a gallon of gasoline was just five years ago!
Time moves so swiftly that we rarely notice its passing until it's gone, and our memories fade. The things that seem so common, so ordinary, become forgotten history.
The definition of archaeology is “the systematic study of past human life and culture by the recovery and examination of remaining material.” You can make it easy on your descendants if you leave plenty of “remaining material” or clues in your journaling. Or use actual memorabilia on your pages to give insight to future generations about today. They'll marvel at all sorts of things we daily take for granted.
the cost of living
Scrapbooking the cost of living
will make great conversation for your descendants. How much do you spend on groceries each week? How often do you go out to eat, and how much does it cost to feed your family? What is the cost of your utilities, which mortgage company do you send a check to every month, and what on earth is that monthly deduction for an “ISP” (Internet service provider) in your bank statement?
In 20 short years, you won't remember how much the rent on your townhouse was or how much you paid the orthodontist every month, but this is precisely the sort of trivia that will make you gasp in fond memory.
To scrapbook your cost of living, start first with your checkbook. Delve into your personal finance management software, and use the tracking feature to figure out your biggest expenses, your most common expenses and where your money goes regularly. Either print out the actual electronic files and reports, or use your cancelled checks for your layout. Don't forget to include how these expenses make you feel in your journaling-can you believe you still have 15 years to go on your mortgage? Did you have to cut back on dining out after you moved into your dream house? How much do diapers really cost per month?
modern housekeeping
While looking around the Internet in search of a gift for my antique-car-loving sister, I stumbled across a Web site called “RareAds.com.” I suddenly found myself spending hours gazing at old magazine ads. Technically speaking, advertisements aren't the best way for archaeologists to glean clues about a culture, because they are supposed to idealize perfection through product acquisition. But they are a great way to find out what's hot in terms of technology.
Today, we take instant cleaners for granted. Heck, now we're in the age of the disposable, automatic cleanser. Who knows how we'll be cleaning our homes in 2055?
Take a look around your home and think about the modern products that you use to tidy up. Not only are soaps, cleansers, detergents and waxes part of your daily life, but a vast number of machines and appliances assist you as well.Calculate how much time and money you spend maintaining your home too.
Back in 1875, scholars believe that keeping a family fed, clothed and housed took a typical housewife more than 60 hours per week-now that's evidence of an era!
pop culture pages
I just celebrated my 20th high-school reunion. That's raucous enough, but in preparation for the event, I was listening to a compilation CD of the biggest hits of 1984 with a few of my friends. There were Top 20 songs that I not only didn't remember, but they really made me wonder where I was that year. I do remember that absolutely everything about us was so “gnarly.” We wore our sunglasses at night, if you get my drift. Journaling pop culture details like this is not only informative, it is fun.
But when journaling pop culture, the biggest problem may be narrowing the field. You can scrapbook fashion-what's your favorite pair of jeans? Or you can immortalize music-what do you listen to in the car? What's your favorite radio station? Do you prefer CDs or MP3s? How big is your CD collection?
Movies and TV also reflect pop culture, and don't forget to scrapbook whether you use a VCR or a DVD player, cable or digital cable, DIRECTV or satellite.
It may be argued that a scrapbook in and of itself is a clue to future generations, but let's not leave any guesswork. You never know what minute detail may be lost from our present history.
So grab your checkbook, get out that Shania Twain CD, and don't forget to run the dishwasher while you scrapbook things to make tomorrow's archaeologists shout, “Eureka! I know why we found that pile of yellow rubber bands-it's a Lance Armstrong thing!”
