What do you keep?

[wickedwritah]

My parents are getting ready to move from their home of nearly 15 years and settle into a new apartment complex. That means that I finally have to go through all my stuff stored there, see what is worth keeping and what's not worth keeping, stuff that's been piled in boxes and hidden in the back of closets for years.

I came across a few awards and trophies from my way younger days, my cap and gown from high school, etc. Logic says it's time to part with most of it, it was nice while it lasted, etc. -- yet my parents (pack rats to the max) seem to think that I'm irrational and that my guilty Catholic ass eventually will regret it.

What's legit to keep and what's legit to toss?

 

[Norman Stansfield]

As far as work stuff goes, I have every Sports section in which one of my stories has appeared. After 15 years, that's a lot of sections. Takes up a good portion of my basement. Just too lazy to cut them out. I also have every credential/press pass for every event I've ever covered, from a state high school cross country meet to the Super Bowl. Figure it'll make a cool display someday.

 

[alleyallen]

I have my medical and service records from a decade of Navy service, patches I've been collecting since I was a tot, Hot Wheels cars, Iron Man comic books, sports stories I've written (and liked) and pages I've designed (and liked), and quite a bit of stuff from my Hall of Fame whirlwind tour from 1999.

Oh, and the manuals from just about every computer game I've ever owned.

 

[Cadet]

Some things that take up space, like those old kiddie trophies, you can take a few pictures of for the memories and get rid off.

I'm in the process of scanning important documents (like medical-related paperwork) and shredding the stuff I really don't need (like receipts from office visits). If I ever need it to prove anything (like medical deductions on taxes) I've at least got an electronic copy of it, but it's not taking up space, I don't have to move it and it's not creating a fire hazard like Norman's basement.

 

[slappy4428]

Save your first trophy because it was your first.

 

[rallen13]

Books! Books! Books! Stamps, Classics Illustrated comics. All the rest of the junk belongs to my wife and there is no way in hell she will ever part with any of it.

 

[User 1019]

I have a shotglass collection (of about 300 glasses) that Mrs. tbf says is hitting ebay or the trash before we move in December.

 

[Mayfly]

I have a shotglass collection (of about 300 glasses) that Mrs. tbf says is hitting ebay or the trash before we move in December.

Before you do, get 50 of your closest friends, line up the shotglasses, and go at it!

 

[finishthehat]

I'd be careful about what you toss.

My brother recently sent me a box of stuff he found in the attic of the house we grew up in (he bought it and lives there now) and it was a kick seeing such boilerplate stuff as the diploma-looking thing commemorating my selfless service as an altar boy.

 

[alleyallen]

Books! Books! Books! Stamps, Classics Illustrated comics. All the rest of the junk belongs to my wife and there is no way in hell she will ever part with any of it.

The books better be coming to me when you kick it!

 

[SoSueMe]

As far as work stuff goes, I have every Sports section in which one of my stories has appeared. After 15 years, that's a lot of sections. Takes up a good portion of my basement. Just too lazy to cut them out. I also have every credential/press pass for every event I've ever covered, from a state high school cross country meet to the Super Bowl. Figure it'll make a cool display someday.

I have every newspaper (not just sports section) in which one of my articles appeared. It's only eight years, but it takes up a ****load of space. And I'm not tossing them. I also have all my credentials.

I keep everything.

I have a program from every single sporting event I attended as a fan. And every ticket stub, too.

We have a two bedroom apartment, and the second room has a twin bed and all my **** in it. The better half can't wait to buy a house so I can have the basement all to myself!

 

[Twoback]

I have a shotglass collection (of about 300 glasses) that Mrs. tbf says is hitting ebay or the trash before we move in December.

So you have Shotty stashed in your basement?

 

[Dyno]

I'm very sentimental, so I err on the side of saving. Ihave a bag full of letters and notes passed between my best friend and me all through middle and high school. Rereading those has brought me hours and hours of joy. I also get a big kick out of rereading my kindergarten notebooks (seriously) and that kind of stuff. Most of my pre-college stuff is stored in boxes at my parents house and my post-college stuff is stashed in boxes in a storage space in my building.

I'd suggest saving things your kids (current or future) might get a kick out of seeing. I loved looking through my mom's old college papers and things she saved and always wished my dad had saved his stuff, too.

I think what Cadet's doing is a great idea, not just for medical records, but for any document of value to you. After 9/11, I embarked on what I called "The Great Scanning Project." It took me over a year, but I scanned every photo and every post-college little piece of memorabilia I had in my photo albums and scrapbooks. I have a set of CDs at my place, one at my parents' (they live several hundred miles away) and one in a safety deposit box.

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

I love re-reading all of my diaries, of which I just found the box three years ago when my parents moved (yes, a box!):

"I love David. Does David love me? I'm not really sure. Maybe we'll go roller skating Friday night. Hope my Dad doesn't go this time, though. If David doesn't love me, then I'll just ask Chris to go out with me. He always looks at me during class. Mrs. Livingstone says I should stop passing notes to Katie. I bet I will marry David."

 

[wickedwritah]

I love re-reading all of my diaries, of which I just found the box three years ago when my parents moved (yes, a box!):

"I love David. Does David love me? I'm not really sure. Maybe we'll go roller skating Friday night. Hope my Dad doesn't go this time, though. If David doesn't love me, then I'll just ask Chris to go out with me. He always looks at me during class. Mrs. Livingstone says I should stop passing notes to Katie. I bet I will marry David."

Where are the X-rated passages?

 

[audreyld]

I would urge you to keep more than you think you should. After my mom passed, I was really grateful for all of the things she and my dad and my grandmother had kept of hers, even little things like stuff from when she was in high school.

Even though I wasn't around for that part of her life, it's still really important to me to have it to look at and hold.

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

I love re-reading all of my diaries, of which I just found the box three years ago when my parents moved (yes, a box!):

"I love David. Does David love me? I'm not really sure. Maybe we'll go roller skating Friday night. Hope my Dad doesn't go this time, though. If David doesn't love me, then I'll just ask Chris to go out with me. He always looks at me during class. Mrs. Livingstone says I should stop passing notes to Katie. I bet I will marry David."

Where are the X-rated passages?

For some silly reason, I can't find those.



Seriously though, to answer your question, I think you should keep everything that doesn't take up tooooo much space.
I always think what if a fire were to burn down my house and all those precious items were destroyed. Guess what? In the long run, they're just things, just possessions you cannot take with you to the next life (see thread, do you believe in God).

 

[wickedwritah]

I am tempted to save more now after reading this thread. I'm thinking that I'll save what fits in one storage container under the bed, but that's it.

 

[finishthehat]

I think what Cadet's doing is a great idea, not just for medical records, but for any document of value to you. After 9/11, I embarked on what I called "The Great Scanning Project." It took me over a year, but I scanned every photo and every post-college little piece of memorabilia I had in my photo albums and scrapbooks. I have a set of CDs at my place, one at my parents' (they live several hundred miles away) and one in a safety deposit box.

The potential problem with this -- and I'm not saying it's not worth doing -- is that there's a good chance that 10 years from now the stuff could be all but unretrievable. For instance, if you did this a while back (not really possible, I know) you would have been saving your stuff to a 5 1/2-inch floppy disk, and good luck trying to find a way to read it now.

 

[SoSueMe]

I would urge you to keep more than you think you should. After my mom passed, I was really grateful for all of the things she and my dad and my grandmother had kept of hers, even little things like stuff from when she was in high school.

Even though I wasn't around for that part of her life, it's still really important to me to have it to look at and hold.

Agreed. My aunt married, and her husband died within months of the marriage - massive heart attack. Anyway, she was completely wrecked by it. She tossed everything - I mean EVERYTHING. It was weird. Anyway, she was just throwing **** out to throw **** out. One day, I'm doing a project in school and I ask my mom and dad where the family documents are that were STAMPED BY THE KING OF ****ING ENGLAND! And my parents say (pretty pissed off, mind you) that my aunt burnt them when she went through that phase.