Do you keep birthday cards?
I really want to connect more with you guys so I thought I’d start something new on the blog – a question of the week.
So, without further ado, here’s this week’s question:
Do you keep birthday cards?
If yes, how long?
I only keep birthday cards if the person wrote a personal message to me that was particularly meaningful.
I keep them out for about a month or until the clutter starts annoying me, whichever comes first 
Then into my memory box…
How about you?
I do have a memory box… shoe box, actually! LOL I keep b’day cards or Christmas cards, memorabilia from a fun event, but also my teenage diaries and some letters from my friends (and even from my first love… don’t tell DBF!!). When the box gets too full (can’t close properly), I discard the less meaningful items. If something is too big to be kept but still important to me, like the pants I traveled to Malaysia with, I take a picture of it before getting rid of it.
I’ve kept every single birthday card and many christmas cards since my first (of 4) was born 11 years ago. They’re all in my filing cabinet (unsorted – just chucked in there). They’re the only thing I horde and I know one day I have to face them, ugh! I keep trying to decide what to with them all…
Yes! I am really bad at keeping birthday cards, in fact i nearly had a suitcase full before i did a big cull. I just cant seem to part with them as i thought each one was so special and they bought back memories about that time in our life, our kids life and memories about the person who wrote the card.
I do keep birthday cards, typically just with something memorable written in them though. I usually hang them on my bulletin board or something of similar sorts. Confession.. I don’t keep ones from my grandparents because they just write love, grandma & grandpa but ones that have something meaningful & lovely written in them I keep.
I keep the cards which were handmade, which is quite a few now as lots of my friends are crafty that way, I think if they spent all that time making it, the least I should do is keep it. the shop bought ones I cut up to make other cards, or just recycle!
I made a comittment last year that in an effort to de-clutter, capture fond memories and do my little part for the environment, I would:
- throw out any cards that were not ‘pretty’ and held no sentimental value
- keep the frotn cover of any ‘pretty’ cards (cut off the side that is written on) and recycle them as postcard style gift cards … something that is working well and has also helped save $$ in buying new cards
- keep any sentimental cards or messages and put them in an album or scrapbook (the keeping bit is working, the scrapbooking side is that frog I’m yet to eat)
And even though some family and friends that I shared this idea with were initially mortified at potentially receiving a recycled birthday card, they have since changed their tune and are now giving me cards that they hope to be recycled!!!
Hmmmm … time to eat that scrapbooking frog though …..
Chloe, you do exactly the same as I do! Down to the picture-taking
Laurie, you’re definitely a sentimental organiser
I really don’t think it’s bad as long as you have limits (as your suitcase provides)
Great systems, Laura
I used to keep everything and I mean everything!
However, in efforts to declutter my life, I now struggle with what to keep and what to throw away.
I sometimes catch myself throwing out cards and things that I probably should hold onto.
I often only now keep the cards that my kids make me and the cards that my hubby gives me (the ones that he does more than signs his name). Everything else gets recycled. I’ve learned that I never really spend time going through old cards so why keep them?