Ben Brown Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 My dad passed away five years ago, and Mom is now in a nursing home with dementia and balance problems. Her house is unoccupied, so we need to clear it out and sell it. The furniture and all of that can go in an estate sale, but what do you do with old family photos dating back to the 1800s, immigration papers, diplomas, and general stuff they kept from their ancestors, and the other odds and ends that were valuable to my parents, but not to the rest of the family? I'm not the least bit sentimental about the vast majority of this stuff and I've already taken the few things of my dad's that mean a lot to me. My sister isn't interested in most of the stuff, nor are my daughters. There is nobody left on my dad's side of the family and only an uncle and a couple of cousins on Mom's side, so we can't send the stuff to family. I'm happy to throw out the tons of photos of me as a kid, and we already have duplicates of the pics with my own kids. It seems a shame to throw the very old photos and some of the other things in the dumpster, but I don't want to clutter up my own house and leave a bunch of crap for my daughters to go through some day. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonwinn Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) Just went through this. Donate to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. Whats left goes to the landfill or incinerator. Destroy all documents to prevent identity theft. I shredded and or burnt.HTH- jon Edited October 14, 2019 by jonwinn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Is there a local historical society who might take some of those photos dating back to the 1800s? I would be inclined to retain the immigration papers and diplomas in case a member of the family's next generation becomes interested in genealogy. But then my outlook is affected by my paternal Grandmother in mid 1990s throwing away pretty much all the family historical stuff because, "Why should anyone want stuff that's about dead people." Destroy all documents to prevent identity theft. Sad thing that that is a factor nowadays. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 You could scan them and save them electronically, while shredding the paper copies. Just a thought. I have a ton of my maternal grandparents' records, including my grandpa's enlistment and discharge papers from WWI. Pretty interesting; not much has changed militarily, as far as paperwork goes, in 100 years or more. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share Posted October 14, 2019 Thanks for the suggestions. I went through the house and “sanitized” it of anything that had account or social security info on it soon after we moved Mom to the rest home. Now we’re slowly going through the family stuff and it seems like an overwhelming task. So many old photos of unknown people, and Mom’s dementia is to the point where she doesn’t remember who’s in the photos. I’m definitely keeping my dad’s and his dad’s military papers and photos. We’re also hanging onto the family’s genealogy files. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonwinn Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) bump Edited October 14, 2019 by jonwinn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Thanks for the suggestions. ... We’re also hanging onto the family’s genealogy files. Welcome! Sounds like a plan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DDC Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Keep the family photos and documents. You'll forever regret letting that stuff go and it's something you'll never get back. As has been said above, museums might have anni interest in historical records. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 All of the family photos and such are now set aside. I just came home from going through their attic. Found a box of Dallas newspapers and Life magazines covering the Kennedy assassination! Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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