Valentines

Where do you keep special letters, birthday cards, valentines, notes, etc?  There's is a nostalgia to having a bundle of old letters from a special someone tied together with string up in the attic for your children to find someday.  Should we keep them?  I say a hearty YES!  However, save only the special ones. 

As my grandparents aged, I held onto some of their letters in their handwriting.  I saved a note written on.. um... an interesting feminine product pull off strip from pranking college friends.  Letters from my husband during our dating years are tucked away.  Special notes from my own children, school kids and parents, etc. have been kept for future enjoyment.

The recent valentines from our school valentine party are gone now in the trash.  They were sweet and cute, but just had cats or dogs saying "Be Mine."  A homemade valentine from my husband will stay. 

Two suggestions to simplify this area:  if it is special, keep it, but have a certain designated storage spot like a decorative photo box from a craft store.  Do NOT shove cards, letters in a random drawer.  If the card doesn't have much personal sentiment (i.e. just a signature), generally it won't mean as much later to you as will one with a handwritten note. 

Not every note or card can stand the test of time, so don't feel guilty getting rid of the majority.  I know this is treason coming from someone who loves history, but...look at all the history we know about George Washington, yet he and Martha burned most of their correspondence to one another.  It's OK to simplify.