Alex Partridge

But I feel like with objects...

If you actually have that moment where you do discard and get rid of them, you don't miss them.

Typically.

I never thought I'd be psychoanalyzing why there's out-of-date vitamins in my cupboard, but I think it's so true because I have such a bad memory.

I don't remember many things, but those vitamins in my cupboard act as a visual prompt, a visual memory prompt, with the fact that I had fun with my partner a year ago when we were talking about this health kick we were going to go on together.

And that fun trip to the supermarket where we were really excited in that aisle picking up the vitamin D pills.

And yes, they've gone out of date and they can't be taken anymore, but the fact that they're still there reminds me of that nice memory.

Whereas otherwise, because my memory is so bad, I would forget that event.

so interesting i feel like it can be such a subconscious process too i never even thought the fact that i'm keeping those vitamin pills because of that memory association it's not until some something perhaps reminds you and it could be so small like you smell something yeah like snaps you back to a childhood memory that you have completely forgotten yeah it might be so abstract you can't even visualize like the details of the memory but the feeling comes back yeah either the feeling of happiness or joy or love comes back in that moment and

Yeah, no, I suppose if you do need to get rid of things, you could always take a photo of it and perhaps put it in an album.

So you have an album of associated memories.

I can take a picture of my vitamin pills.

I think I really have lost the plot.

Yeah, gosh.

Yeah, there's a lot there, isn't there?

I suppose it's why people keep hold of their old teddy bears or their old blankets, because it's such a dopamine reminder of happy times.

And if we're dopamine-seeking beings, even if it's a minute memory, we don't want to throw it out.

It's such a knee-jerk reaction to keep it in our world.

Yeah.

Yeah.