My wife is the keeper of stuff
My worst habit is probably getting rid of stuff. I wrote about this a while ago, but I don’t keep my writing after I finish it. I don’t even keep stuff that is published. I don’t keep anything if I can avoid it.
I can’t say why, but I don’t like seeing a full hard drive or a file folder jammed with paper. I’d much rather focus on what’s coming up and what’s happening now. The past is past. And much like bad memories, I dump all that burden in the trash.
My wife, on the other hand, saves everything. She has stuff in her filing cabinets that goes back to high school. And, no, that’s not an exaggeration. Unlike me, she’s a meticulous note-taker and record-keeper. It’s her thing, and that’s fine. And sometimes it’s a blessing!
As I finished editing The Guilty, I realized some important stuff was missing from my manuscript, like the epigram, the afterword, etc. I had the primary text, but the rest was gone; it was dropped in the bin years ago. Oops.
Enter my wife. She had it all. Not only that, but she had every copy of every version of the manuscript because I used to do multiple drafts when I originally wrote the book. As a result, everything is back where it belongs, and I have yet another reason to be grateful for her. Onward to the next thing!