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Thread: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

  1. #1
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    Default decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    i have no problem with getting rid of absolutely anything, but am stumped when it comes to old journals. i have a whole suitcase of them, and am moving often and it doesn't seem like i will settle down anywhere anytime soon. what i would like to know is if anyone got rid of their journals and never regretted it. i mean it's my essence in there, even photos mean nothing compare to that. and it's not dear diary types stuff either, where you just record mundane daily stuff. it reflects who i was at various stages of life, and these journals have preserved my sanity and have been my only friends in the worst of times.

    but then, the suitcase gets heavier and heavier, and dragging it with me every time i move sucks (not to mention thinking if i get in an accident and die and some stranger will be going thru it all). i don't have an option of storing it in a family members' place, btw.

    sooo...to shred it or not? sometimes i read some of it and think i used to be smarter than i am now, lol, but to keep it for ego's sake? i looked at some feng shui sites, but didn't see anything about journals.


    TIA!

    p.s. oh, and i have a huge bag of cd cases and they are just sitting there. i already sold all the cd's i was tired of, and stuff i kept i'll never sell (besides, even if i'll want to they'll be too used up for it). so do i just throw cases into a recycle bin, or what?
    "The herd walks off the cliff because the herd are not a group of individuals - the herd is a mass of followers and followers follow the path of cowardice."

  2. #2
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I keep those kinds of journals too. You will regret it if you shred them! That's your life; that's who you are. I know if my grandmother or great-grandmother had a collection like that, I would be so honored and fascinated to receive it. Think of the legacy you could be leaving to your descendants.

    It's worth moving it. I would never throw away any of mine. I don't want anyone else reading my journals right now, but I'd love to leave them to a daughter or someone when I'm older and wiser. They illustrate the journey we've made.

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    Featured Member Gemini_Syn's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    BURN the journals. Blackmail isnt fun when you are on the recieving end of it.


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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I burned my journals. I am regretting it too. I would say to keep em.

  5. #5
    aussiepunkshocker
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    If I had journals I would keep them! Mind you it does sound like you have alot - maybe you could just keep the most meaningful ones or pages?
    I am having a simular delema with old letters. There's so much history in them but I have so many. I have started to throw out some of them bit by bit, just keeping the ones which are most relevant and interesting for now.
    I have parted with some "records" from the past before and I don't really regret it - I have memories and that's the main thing. I do think it's quite freeing to let go of old things no matter what they are. On the other hand though things like journals can be so very interesting to possible future generations / offspring. I love looking at old stuff that's been handed down through our family!

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    Veteran Member jannisary's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I'd keep the journals. I sometimes write a journal, seem to do it more when I'm going through a lot and am trying to sort my thoughts out. Anyway a few weeks ago I about went crazy trying to find a cetain box. I'd placed some journals and letters in this box for safe keeping a year or so ago and of course when I wanted it I couldn't find the damn box! I tore my place apart looking for it with each minute filled with increasing dread, well maybe "dread" is a little too strong. Finally found the box and spent a few hours going over stuff I'd written a decade or so ago.

    I too also sometimes worry about dying suddenly and some stranger reading my stuff, or worse yet my family reading it! I still haven't really figured a solution to that problem yet but if I'm dead does it really matter who reads it anyway? Well, some of it just might because it might hurt someone's feelings. A few years ago I had to have an operation, nothing real serious but everything has a certain risk. I put all the really sensitive stuff in to a box and wrapped in paper and sealed it up with tape. I put my best friend's name on it and told her where to find it in the house if anything happened to me. I made it through the operation and there the box sat until that one evening when I decided to look for it.

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    thanks for the thoughts and perspectives! i've decided to get rid of stuff that's too personal, and stash the rest into one of those aluminum suitcases with combination lock i've seen someplace. if i get into an accident, i'm sure cops won't be digging thru my possessions until i'm confirmed dead. and it's true, once i am it won't matter.
    "The herd walks off the cliff because the herd are not a group of individuals - the herd is a mass of followers and followers follow the path of cowardice."

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    best solution: get a yahoo or hotmail email account and type the entries and save them as drafts! you'll have access to them on any computer and can type new ones! you'll also NEVER lose them!

  9. #9
    aussiepunkshocker
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    ^^^ Good idea except if could be alot of typing since she has a case of journals! I would opt for scanning the ones I wanted to keep to disc if I had the time and patience.

  10. #10
    exotisch23
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I would just keep certain books or pages of significance/importance & junk the rest.

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    Quote Originally Posted by scarymary77
    best solution: get a yahoo or hotmail email account and type the entries and save them as drafts! you'll have access to them on any computer and can type new ones! you'll also NEVER lose them!
    Actually worst solution I can think of is taking all your info and sending it someplace on the Internet. And typing it...? Work intensive.

    If you want to condense it into a smaller space, you might scan each page (B/W with the right sensitivity setting) and burn it to a set of CD-R's (not CD-RW's which are not permanent).

    Send your CD jewel cases to Salvation Army, or put on the local swap sheet or even on ebay.
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I got rid of some old journals, and kind of regret it but kind of don't. They were from when I was 13 and lame, so I'm glad I don't have to be embarassed by reading my dumb yammering, but then it would be kind of cool to have a memory like that. I don't think I'll throw out any of my grown-up journals.

    The scanning thing is a good idea. Set your scanner up beside you when you're watching TV, it'll go fast.

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    Keep them. I am like the queen of minimalism (I usually have no more stuff than I can fit in my vehicle) and I still keep a box of journals.



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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    thanks for the suggestions everyone! scanner it is. i was actually considering burying it all in the woods, for someone to find in a future, lol.

    threlayer, thanks for the disposal of cd cases ideas.
    "The herd walks off the cliff because the herd are not a group of individuals - the herd is a mass of followers and followers follow the path of cowardice."

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    i see you made a choice but you could also use a lock box and store at your folks house or in a storage locker but don't junk it.

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I don't think I'd scan any of mine or anything like that. I've kept all of mine, even some 'important' notes between me & my friends from when we were in school together. i know it's silly, but I do like to read stuff like that once in a while. It always brings back memories that make my smile - or sometimes even make me sad, mad, whatever. I would never get rid of any of it.






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    Veteran Member DJ_Duane's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    Before you do anything with your journals, consider how you might feel in a few months or years when you think back on your life as it has unfolded up to that point. You may miss your journals and wish you still had them.

    The efforts you saved by not having to carry them around may seem insignificant compared to the sense of loss you may experience with the loss of your journals at that point.

    I say: keep them. The sense of personal fulfillment you will experience in years to come by having them around will offset any feelings of inconvenience you may have about carrying them.

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    Veteran Member oulala's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    I agree - keep them. I have a huge box full of journals. I started writing when I was 9 and many times over the years I have thought about throwing them out or burning them incase somebody reads them or because I don't want to be reminded about how dorky I was. But every now and then I'll grab a random journal out of the box to read... and it truly is wonderful just to see how much you've changed and stir up old memories, good and bad. I'll often end up sitting up all night with a hot chocolate laughing over things forgotten. And ahh how it was to be so innocent! First love... etc. When a loved one dies, it is comforting to read back on what they were like. Happy memories. It keeps them alive. Or... as I have found... read back on diaries to remember old lessons, etc...

    There are so many reasons to keep them...

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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    i can see what you all mean by "keep them". one of the reasons i considered discarding is because i thought it will make me feel lighter. like totally casting off my past and just being in the moment, being reborn or something. symbolic burning off karma... hope it made sense.
    "The herd walks off the cliff because the herd are not a group of individuals - the herd is a mass of followers and followers follow the path of cowardice."

  20. #20
    aussiepunkshocker
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    ^^^ Yes, I understand I think. I have recently been doing something simular - just chucking out alot of things which I had kept for sentimental value. I had flyers from gigs I'd been to, posters, drawings, newspaper cuttings and various other crap. But I threw almost all of it out and it does feel great to have done that! It's hard to explan, but it is a good feeling!!! The only stuff I have left is hundreds and hundreds of letters I received from friends dating from when I was a very small child to fairly recently. I want to keep some but not all but it will be so hard to pick and choose once i start looking at them again so i am tempted to just throw the lot... Going to sit on it abit longer though...

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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: decluttering, need opinions on getting rid of journals, please.

    Quote Originally Posted by pissymissy
    i can see what you all mean by "keep them". one of the reasons i considered discarding is because i thought it will make me feel lighter. like totally casting off my past and just being in the moment, being reborn or something. symbolic burning off karma... hope it made sense.

    You can write letters to yourself and burn them. This is a common practice.

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