Poll: Old letters
I want to take a quick poll of my readers.
Do you keep old letters from friends? Old boyfriends? How long do you keep them?
I am once again trying to clean out the nursery (I now have a deadline of Tuesday AM since my cousin is coming at that time to paint the walls) and sorting through all this stuff I have kept with me through the years. When my parents moved out of the house I grew up in a couple years ago, I had to clean out my old room and threw out 3-4 shoeboxes full of old correspondence from friends, family, pen pals, etc. I didn't go through most of it because I just wanted to finish. But now, I am going through some of the stuff I have here, and I am tempted to throw it all out, but there is a part of me that says I need to keep things...like the letters from two men dear to my heart who passed away in 1999 and 2000. Or letters from my ex-boyfriend that I still pine away for from time to time (despite the fact that he and his girlfriend are pregnant and getting married!). How do you part with these things?
Do you keep old letters from friends? Old boyfriends? How long do you keep them?
I am once again trying to clean out the nursery (I now have a deadline of Tuesday AM since my cousin is coming at that time to paint the walls) and sorting through all this stuff I have kept with me through the years. When my parents moved out of the house I grew up in a couple years ago, I had to clean out my old room and threw out 3-4 shoeboxes full of old correspondence from friends, family, pen pals, etc. I didn't go through most of it because I just wanted to finish. But now, I am going through some of the stuff I have here, and I am tempted to throw it all out, but there is a part of me that says I need to keep things...like the letters from two men dear to my heart who passed away in 1999 and 2000. Or letters from my ex-boyfriend that I still pine away for from time to time (despite the fact that he and his girlfriend are pregnant and getting married!). How do you part with these things?
posted by Katrina | 12/18/2005 07:29:00 PM
9 Comments:
I keep as much as I can. If reading it or seeing it gives me some sort of emotional reaction I hang on to it.
I put them in binders, along with choice e-mails, and keep them on a bookshelf dedicated to journals. There are months & years where I never journaled, but I can revisit the time via the old letters or e-mails.
But I am the BIGGEST sentimental old sap.
What color are you painting??
I too keep things such as cards and letters. I have all the cards my husband has given me. I have letters my mother wrote me when I was a teenager and we were apart. I also have items and letters from a dear man whom I adopted as my father some years ago who is now in Heaven. I don't keep things from ex lovers and such. Those can cause problems in current relationships. But not all relationships are like that.. so anyway..I'm rambling..
Hope to hear from you soon! Glad all is going well. I can't wait to see your beautiful little girl!
Gidgit
keep it. i kept stuff like that forever. then when my parents died and i was cleaning out their house i just pitched a bunch of it and have been sorry ever since. kris
I have all of my notes and letters since the 7th grade! Even some from before then. My husband thinks I'm nuts but I don't know, I just can't part with them. If space is an issue, I would keep some from each year and shred the rest.
i think we're all sentimental around here. i'd keep what i could too as long as there's room. each time i go through things i do sift some out that are a little less personal or have been replaced by more recent things. i'm sure i'm not the only one who keeps letters from older friends or relatives (or anyone for that matter) because a tiny piece of them wonders if it'll be the last thing they get.
Another keeper here. :-) I did finally go through my keepsake box I (which had waaayyyy outgrown the box) and toss some old notes that no longer had meaning to me, but some I will keep forever. ~CarolynG
I am a definite keeper...I like that term much better than packrat! I even keep birthday cards that I get..I really need to get rid of things, but I'm just a sentimental fool!
Man, I kept this post saved in Bloglines, hoping to come back with some great tossing strategies. Instead, I found a bunch of comrades! I need to get rid of the clutter!
LOL Cricket, you know, by the time people had posted on here, I had already tossed most of it. Just saved a very few...now, if only I could get that bag of papers into the recycling bin on Friday...LOL
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