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To throw away or not

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by quicksplash, Dec 29, 2013.

  1. quicksplash

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    I was going through boxes and there's a lot of old stuff. Namely, old school stuff.
    I'm trying to throw out stuff, but I'm having such a hard time.

    Like I have a worksheet with the names of European countries in Japanese or a conjugation chart. It seems like that'd be useful to learn, but I also highly doubt that I would look at it over surfing the Web.
    Or old homeworks, class excercises, notebooks... do I throw away because I probably won't look at them again? or do I keep them for the memories and potential review. Honestly, I've also forgotten a lot of stuff. but then again...I don't think I'll look at it.
    What do you do with stuff like that?
    Throw it out or keep it?:help:
     
  2. Nocturnal

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    I would say throw away.
     
  3. Tzoa

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    If you don't think you'll look at it again, then get rid of it. There's no need to have clutter like that around.

    But I am not particularly sentimental. I tend to throw out homework as soon as final grades are posted.
     
  4. awesomeyodais

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    If some of it is "creative" work (essays, short stories, poetry, etc...) you may want to scan them, might be fun to look at down the road (or just keep the original Word file if they were written out on computer). Basic lists of information that you can find elsewhere on the net probably don't have as much use.
     
  5. AlamoCity

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    My mom saved all of my certificates, ribbons, and trophies and my crappy artwork (I have no artistic skills whatsoever). The rest of stuff got shredded, since I didn't want my name to be in the trash.

    You probably won't ever need it and you'll always be able to look up other information in reference sources.

    For college, I always keep my textbooks (will look nice as reference sources in my future library /coffee table material) and my college notes for classes where other future classes might need the reference to. After a year or so, they go to my Fellowes shredder :grin:. It's very therapeutic.

    I do save all of my essays in Word and PowerPoint presentations on a flashdrive. The amount of space it physically takes is insignificant and pretty good to see how you've evolved through the years without having physical "clutter."
     
  6. Tzoa

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    D'oh, I feel a bit like a dolt now. Yes, save all your creative works and keep essays on your hard drive. Essays for Class A have sometimes helped me in Class B a year later. But worksheets and class exercises I still feel can be tossed if you don't think you'll ever use them.
     
  7. Data

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    Yep, I save my certificates, awards, and creative writing. I have multiple "big" reports that I did for several different classes. MAN it is funny to go back and read stuff you wrote 10 years ago. :grin: I have a big binder of all my Student of the Month awards, a few essay contest awards, department awards from Social Studies and English, etc.

    All the other stuff I tossed out. I saved some of the more interesting stuff, like scans of our AP Genetics and Molecular Biology class text book. That stuff is in a huge pile. The teacher liked to give us packets of the book instead of buying a class set of books which was really expensive.

    Everything is just a fire hazard. ###### just lurking in the attic/basement waiting for its moment to burn the house down.
     
  8. Foxface

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    don't ask me...I have next to no remeberance...if there is clutter and it's not needed, it's gone and I don't think twice about it.

    Foxface
     
  9. Starry Eyes

    Starry Eyes Guest

    I would say throw away most of it. If you want to keep something then consolidate it. What I mean by that is sometimes you have exactly what you are talking about a big sheet of paper with a few things on it. Copy it over in smaller print onto another sheet. Keep doing this until you have it all condensed and then throw the originals away. Or like others have said, scan it onto a computer. But then store the USB drive or CD or whatever somewhere safe. Don't just have it on your hard drive.
     
  10. greatwhale

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    Clutter accumulates rapidly, if you don't think you will consult/read or copy it within the next year or two discard it. If you're not sure, scan or photograph it and send it to Dropbox or the like.

    One has to be a little brutal with such stuff.

    However, if you are married, keep good records of the stuff you acquire during the marriage (receipts and the like) because if divorce happens, you want to be prepared when it comes to division of property.