Dianavan, I also have a load of old writing what I haven't thrown away and live in fear it will one day be discovered and read, and (Horrors!) passed around by well-meaning friends.
So now I have all the stuff I'm really embarrassed about..(not that I don't still think they may be touched by genius...I do have a modicum of vanity)...in one big envelope with a HUGE sign on the front that reads "TO BE BURNED UPON MY DEATH"!
There is a smaller envelope with the things I've already produced, like scripts that I wouldn't mind if someone else wants to take up the mantle of putting them on again, but I go through that one at regular intervals as well, and weed out more and more.
Fred, if I were in the position of having a home with lots of storage room, instead of being a gypsy, I'd make daily rounds in the neighborhood collecting the detritis others deem "trash". There is so much thrown away that could either be used again, or made into something interesting that I'd never be bored.
For me, it's all about doing something I love, whether it be crafts like my repousse, or sketching, or writing....it's for me. I maintain that is the beginning and the end of art. If it's done for anyone but oneself...(not including artists who work for patrons, as one has to believe that was to be given enough money to live on, and still do what one loved) I question the point of it, though still not the skill that makes it...does that make sense??..xx..e