Welcome to Volume 6 of Clutter Tales, a series where we tell the stories of our lives through our clutter. This week, I have a Clutter Tale of my own to tell. Tomorrow is my birthday, so to celebrate I thought it would be fun to travel back in time to the 1980s to give you a glimpse of 1980s high school Michelle.

This post was originally published in July 2021 and updated in June 2024.

Ah yes! The 1980s! It was the era of big hair, bigger dreams and even bigger shoulder pads. During a recent book decluttering session, I came across my high school yearbooks. Tucked away in front of my Grade 13 yearbook were a few pieces of memorabilia: the commencement program, my grade 13 class timetable, and the subject of today’s post—a piece of homework from one of my French classes.

French homework? What kind of memories could possibly come from a piece of 1980s high school French homework? Well, this sheet was a list of questions and answers about our favourite things. As I read it, I realized that 1980s high school Michelle had some different likes and dislikes compared to 2020s Michelle.

Let’s take a look…

Memories of the ditto machine

Here’s a picture of the homework sheet.

It was printed on a ditto machine—officially known as a spirit duplicator. Back in the day, our teachers would write out the handouts on a master, then take them into the office and duplicate them. It was a low-cost way of printing a small number of copies.

Ask anyone who grew up in my era what they remember about the ditto machine. Without a doubt, they will say “the smell”. The machines used spirits—yes, alcohol—to mix with the ink on the master to make the copies. When our teachers would bring freshly-printed ditto copies into the classroom, we would sniff them as we passed them around the classroom. Ha ha…these days we might call the ditto machine a gateway drug!

Now, the downside to this method of copying is it didn’t stand the test of time. As you can see from the picture, the answers I wrote with my ball-point pen are still clearly readable 40 years later. On the other hand, the pre-printed content on the page has faded. I sure hope no-one ever printed important legal documents using one of those machines. 

Now, let’s look at my answers.

A few things have stayed the same

As I read the sheet, it was interesting to note that a few things have stayed the same.

• Blue is still my favourite colour.
• Ice cream is still my favourite dessert.
• Hockey is still my favourite sport. Interestingly, I also had roller skating on the list. At the time, my friends and I were going through a roller-skating phase thanks to the boyfriend of one of my friends who was an avid roller skater. But that’s a story for another post.
• Guitar is still my favourite musical instrument. I have a guitar, but I don’t play. One day, I will learn to play
• If I had to pick only one, the car would still be my favourite method of transportation, probably because it’s the one I use the most. I do love a good road trip. These days, though, my transportation method of choice depends more on the fastest way to get me to my destination.
• Queen is still my favourite musical group. That has never changed, and never will. Interestingly though, I said Queen’s The Game was my favourite album. At the time, it was their newest release, and I remember playing it over and over and over. It’s still right up there on the list of my favourite Queen albums, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite.
• Listening to music was listed as my favourite pastime. I think I’d still say that’s true—especially live music.
• When asked to name my favourite politician, high school Michelle said, “I don’t have a favourite politician because they are all stupid”. I can’t argue with that logic.

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But more things have changed

Now, on to the things that have changed since my 1980s high school days. Some of my answers made me smile. Others made me laugh out loud. Let’s have a look.

Favourite singer

In high school, my favourite singer was Tom Petty. I have always liked Tom Petty and I have great memories of seeing him in concert in the early 1990s. But, over the years, Elton John replaced Tom as my favourite. Bryan Adams would be a close second. Interestingly, I saw Bryan in concert for the first time at our local arena right around the time when I wrote these answers. No-one knew who he was back then. My, how things have changed.

Favourite movie

1980s Michelle said Gone With The Wind, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Quite the contrast between those two movies!

I’m not really a move buff but these days, I’d say Forrest Gump, and the first two movies in the Back To The Future series would top my list of favourites.

Favourite author

John Saul was my favourite in those days. I did read a lot of his books over the years.

Today, Mary Higgins Clark is my favourite. I still love a good mystery.

Favourite fruit and favourite vegetable

Growing up, we ate pretty plain food so it’s not surprising that apples were my favourite fruit and carrots were my favourite vegetables. Boring!

My tastes have definitely changed. It’s hard to pick favourites but I’d say asparagus would be my favourite vegetable. As for my favourite fruit, I’m a big fan of berries—especially raspberries and blueberries.

Favourite song

A sign of the times, I put Talk To Ya Later by The Tubes down as my favourite song. Today, I’m not sure I’d even be able to pick a single favourite song. There are just too many iconic songs to choose from.

Favourite TV show

Back in the day, I was a big fan of General Hospital, a show I haven’t watched in years. I also used to watch The Young & The Restless, a show I still watch but it’s not my favourite. These days, my favourite TV show is This Is Us and my perennial favourite Coronation Street.

Favourite beach

I’ve never been a big beach person. At the time, I hadn’t visited a lot of beaches at this point so I said Valens. Really? It’s not even a real beach!!

The most beautiful beach I’ve ever visited is Castaway Cay on Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. Now, that’s a real beach!

Country I’d most like to visit

In high school, I said Switzerland. It’s still on my list. I’d especially love to make a Queen fan pilgrimage to Montreux to see Freddie’s statue on the shore of Lake Geneva.

These days, Iceland and Australia would be two countries I haven’t been to that I’d most like to visit.

Favourite day of the year

I was a typical high school student because I said the last day of school was my favourite day of the year.

Now, if I had to pick only one day I would say Thanksgiving.

My grad photo

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me and 1980s high school.

Finally, here for fun is my grad picture and yearbook quote. I’m pretty sure the only physical copy of this picture is hanging on the wall in my mum’s living room.

French and German were my best subjects, so my quote is in French. The translation “Small opportunities are often the beginnings of great accomplishments.” I can’t argue with that.  

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I hope you enjoyed this little installment of Clutter Tales. Next week, we’ll continue the series with another guest post. If you’d like to write a guest post for Clutter Tales, please get in touch. I’d love to give you the opportunity to properly thank your clutter by sharing its story too!

What were some of your favourite things in high school? Tell us about them below.