Finally: Bib Organization

I am not a particularly nostalgic person when it comes to "things". I am more of a purger - just ask Husband - if you don't watch me closely, I will clean out your closet while you aren't looking and 1/2 of your clothes will be gone. My motto is that if you haven't worn or used something in a year, you don't need it.

I hate clutter, knick-knacks annoy me, and I just don't get people who collect objects (no, you will never see me with a collection of yarn balls, Coca-Cola themed items, quirky salt and pepper shakers, or anything else). For me, things are generally just things and when they take over my space, they make me feel crazy and therefore need to be gotten rid of.

But I do feel a surprising attachment to two things: my running shoes and my race bibs. Even though they are completely used up, I just can't bring myself to get rid of any of my shoes (well... a slight fib, as the shoes that I ran my very first Monument Avenue 10k in are long gone... but I've kept the rest).

You'd think I'd want to get rid of the ones that I broke my foot in, but I cling to them for some reason.

And then there are the bibs. Like many runners, I've been collecting them for years and trying to figure out a unique way to display them.

Some people make a mural of them:

Bart Yasso's office door
Image Source

You can get them made into (expensive) bags:

Mile 22 Bags

Or coasters (also expensive, but I like this idea and *might* do it for my marathon bib).

Then there are the countless (expensive) Race Bib Albums. I've had one on my Christmas/Birthday/Valentine's Day wish list for a while, but I guess my friends and family members just don't think that a $45 Race Bib Album is a good present. I myself have been unable to justify spending that amount of money on what amounts to a photo album either.

So, my bibs have been living out their post-race days like this:

... in a pile on my desk, held together (barely) by a clip.

Today, I finally decided to remedy the situation. I took one last look at the overpriced Race Bib Albums and then it dawned on me... I can make my own Race Bib Album pretty darn easily and cheaply with one quick trip to Target.

(Never mind that I ended up spending $95 on said trip to Target... otherwise known as the black hole of overspending.)

Here's what I did, in 3 easy steps:

Step One: Obtain snazzy 3-ring binder from Target ($7.05) and clear page protectors ($3.69).

No, the cover doesn't have a runner girl on it but I don't really car.e

Step Two: Convince Husband to help you slip your race bibs into the sheet protectors (free).

Step Three: Put race bibs in chronological order. Use photos from blog to identify mystery bibs (free).

Step Four: Bother your husband again by asking him to take a bad picture of you without make up and in your "lounge shorts" displaying the final project. (edit: after I posted, I realized that 95% of the photos of me on this blog are sans make up so thankfully my natural mug won't be too much of a shock to my readership.)

I think I am still going to add an index card to each page with the race name, date, and my finish time, but overall I'm pretty pleased with my $10 bib album. Certainly much nicer to gaze upon than the crumpled stack of yore.

What do you do with your race bibs?