Parents' books, journals and belongings

[Anonymous]

Do you keep some of your parents' journals, books that they authored and belongings that you have memories of? Books are out of print and without any digital version. Journals are dear to me but their grand kids likely won't read. Am I sentimental and crazy?

[Anonymous]

Some but I don’t expect my kids to keep them.

[Anonymous]

Of course. We try to keep them alive. You gotta use Grandma's china in order for your children to remember it fondly enough to preserve it in turn, and, when it breaks, you quietly replace it via Ebay. They won't know the difference, and, after a while, neither will you.

[Anonymous]

It's OK to be sentimental and crazy so long as it's not interfering with your day-to-day life.

[Anonymous]

I would keep the journals. They don't take up much space and they might turn out to be really interesting after time has passed. My DH's grandpa's mother saved all his letters from WWII and they would have been considered pretty humdrum at the time but now they're interesting. And I'd keep the books-- same thing, they don't take up much space and tell you a lot about the person.

Other possessions, no or at least nothing bulky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would keep the journals. They don't take up much space and they might turn out to be really interesting after time has passed. My DH's grandpa's mother saved all his letters from WWII and they would have been considered pretty humdrum at the time but now they're interesting. And I'd keep the books-- same thing, they don't take up much space and tell you a lot about the person.

Other possessions, no or at least nothing bulky.

The space issue is a critical point, IMO. I agree no furniture, bulky stuff.

But photos, a bunch of books, letters, and jewelry items don't take up much space in an average house. You may not want it but your kids, or even their kids, may enjoy the history later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would keep the journals. They don't take up much space and they might turn out to be really interesting after time has passed. My DH's grandpa's mother saved all his letters from WWII and they would have been considered pretty humdrum at the time but now they're interesting. And I'd keep the books-- same thing, they don't take up much space and tell you a lot about the person.

Other possessions, no or at least nothing bulky.

Yes, I'd dedicate one shelf in my house to this type of thing. That's hardly going to make or break a clean out effort when you are gone. But I would not keep boxes and boxes in the attic full of this type of thing. 1 box worth or 1 shelf worth, maybe 2. But definitely not 10.

[Anonymous]

If you want them and they bring you comfort, keep them. Just don't have any expectations for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Dealing with this now; I’m deeply sentimental and now have three generations of
what could be called family (paper) archives; scrapbooks, photos, memorabilia, diplomas, letters. It’s a lot. Advice is to scan it all and presumably toss but this just feels wrong. No one will ever look at scanned info - not the same as a letter from its original envelope and unfolding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dealing with this now; I’m deeply sentimental and now have three generations of
what could be called family (paper) archives; scrapbooks, photos, memorabilia, diplomas, letters. It’s a lot. Advice is to scan it all and presumably toss but this just feels wrong. No one will ever look at scanned info - not the same as a letter from its original envelope and unfolding.

PP: so I should scan the aged, crumbling high school diploma from 1910 and just toss? Same with the bundled greeting cards from 1935?

[Anonymous]

Trash.

[Anonymous]

I will keep my parents letters and manuscripts. Their books have already been donated to a university. My mother also wrote a memoir so we all have her book. I don't care what my children would do with them after I die.