So I’m still on the ongoing battle to declutter. I’ve come a long way but still want to get rid of more stuff. There’s still too much in boxes.
I downloaded an ebook called “Clutter Buster” and must remember to keep reading it as I only have a 7-day loan. It’s been good – getting me thinking about stuff. As always, it’s the sentimental stuff which is hard to know what to do with. It seems wrong to throw it away, as if it’s throwing away memories. But what am I getting out of keeping it? Do I ever look at it?
This morning I had a chat with a fellow declutterer, D, and we discussed things like letters. I mentioned the box full of sympathy letters written to my brother and I on the death of our father. I had already got rid of letters from people I didn’t even know. D asked why I would keep any and I said that if I had a grandchild who was interested in family history, that they might be interested in what people had to say about my father. She suggested putting the information on a word document and biffing the letters. I thought this was a good idea. No-one’s likely to want to read a pile of letters, but if what they said is contained in one place, it would make it more accessible and possibly more interesting. Excellent idea. I feel like I want to do it straight away, but have to wait until after work, by which time I might have forgotten (by the time I’ve made dinner, etc.). It was good to bounce ideas off each other. She has a pile of books she is considering giving away.
More decluttering ideas welcome!
Would you retype the content, or would you consider scanning the letters? There is something about being able to keep the whole document that appeals to me – even if it is in electronic format.
LikeLike
I was just thinking of typing out the content but perhaps I can scan one or two or take photos of them all.
LikeLike
I was going to suggest that too — scan them. 🙂 Today I saw on one of the antique shows today one of the experts saying to a client, “don’t declutter.” I guess we have to to a degree, but sometimes we don’t know what we are throwing away.
LikeLike
That’s my problem – as someone interested in history and genealogy, it’s difficult to throw away old letters. I know I’d love such treasures if they were my grandmother’s or great-grandmothers. I need to go through my diaries – wondering what to do with them. My Scottish grandmother told me to always have a diary but alas she didn’t have one herself – perhaps she regretted it or they were thrown away.
LikeLike
Same here… Scottish grandmother told me to keep a diary, but if she ever had one, I never saw it. I thought too it must be regret.
It’s one reason why I’ve switched from handwritten to electronic diaries; it might be the worst thing I could have done historically, but I don’t think anybody has room for the extra notebooks I would fill in my life.
There’s an archive in the UK that offers to collect diaires, though I suspect they concentrate on handwritten ones. Maybe there are similar archives in NZ?
LikeLike
Agreed – why I went from diaries to blogs – I’ve saved space at least. Not sure I’d want my old diaries available to the general population – still need to think on them.
LikeLike