Throwing Away Old Photographs - Page 5

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

I belong to a hometown group on FB which has many members. Sometimes people post old photos or news clippings or even ads. One time someone posted my 4th grade class photo, which elicted a lot of conversations and almost everybody in the photo was identified. I have thousands of photos ( most in albums) from when I lived in Europe and Asia during my 20s and 30s. Fortunately most have who and where identified on the backs ( I usually enclosed photos in the many letters I sent home). I would think that some would be of interest to museums or historical societies.

KBEANS · ‎06-08-2020

I would only keep pictures of family members that I knew or know. Honestly, I would rid myself of them. I have many family albums, but as I said I know the people in all my photos. They're all my family and friends. They're mine. No one else's. I'll keep mine and you keep yours!

The slickster that told one of the posters on this thread that, "she didn't know anyone in the photos" (her wedding picture was there) 😝 and passed it on to her, did that because she was guilt ridden. She didn't want to deal with it and so she passed it off to someone she knew would be also feel guilty and knew the receipient would keep the photos. What a wise ass! I wouldn't have taken her photos. It was her responsibility to get rid of them. Well, I guess in a way she did get rid of them without getting her hands dirty; 😝 by making her photos someone else's problem.

No one wants someone else's family pictures...and if they do they're probably pack rats or hoarders and you're adding to their problem.

It doesn't diminish a strangers life by getting rid of their picture. You never knew them; so how could you diminish their life or memory if you don't really know them?? It's the guilt that you put on yourself that is allowing you to keep something that doesn't really matter to you!

Someone mentioned shredding and that's a good idea.

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

The thought of someday ,some one will throw away ,my kids pictures in the alums i have, that really bothers me.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@Biftu I have thrown away oodles of them. Only child, only neice, husband's family etc. We've cleaned out a number of houses and what I learned?

I AM NOT A MUSEUM.

Those people had their day and their life and their things, and I want mine.

Keep the best, make scans or photos of the pretty good ones you like, and pitch out the rest! If anyone is interested in them, get a flat rate USPS box and away they go!

Bless you, it's not easy.

wagirl · ‎03-09-2010

I'm in the same club too, but alot of my photos are from 47years of being married--now I am divorced and want nothing to do with the ex or his family --my 2 kids feel the same way---

cosmic1 · ‎03-10-2010

We always go through the old photos at family reunions. Fortunately, our grandmother had stories about a lot of them. I scanned them all into ancestry when building the family tree. All the genealogy folks in the family were thrilled to get access to them. I was excited to see pictures of my 3rd and 4th great grandparents that others in the family shared.

If you know of anyone in your family who works on the family tree, they might like to have them. You might have the only existing photo of someone in your family and it would be sad to throw it in the trash.

Twins Mom · ‎04-03-2016

@Biftu

I do believe there are military groups that would love some of those pics. Please try to pursue. There might be some relatives who don't have the pics of their loved ones.

Biftu · ‎02-05-2011

@Twins Mom wrote:
@Biftu
I do believe there are military groups that would love some of those pics. Please try to pursue. There might be some relatives who don't have the pics of their loved ones.

@Twins Mom I am going to look into finding a group/museum who may accept these photos. I would feel better knowing they could be used or displayed rather than sitting in my drawer and have someone throw them out when I am gone.

panda1234 · ‎04-27-2015

@MaverDaver wrote:
I have same dilemma. Somehow the thought of throwing them in the trash makes me feel as if their lives didn't matter.

@MaverDaver @so true but when you pass away your kids will trash them. If you do it now it's one less thing someone will have to do when you are gone. I have the same situation.

SurferWife · ‎12-12-2010

@Biftu

I faced that struggle 4 years ago when my mama died. She had SO many photographs of our family, my brothers & me, etc. She lived the last 13 years of her life with my brother and many of the old pictures were in the closet. My brother wanted me to have them, but I live in Hawaii and could not just "throw them in my suitcase" when I came home. So, I made the decision to take pictures of the most meaningful one with my iPhone (they turned out quite well) and threw them all away. Quite frankly, I don't even have the storage space here to just put them away.

I did keep a few of my mama & my aunts & uncles from when she was a little girl, but that's it. It was hard, but it was the realistic decision I had to make.

Time is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. It isn’t how long you live that matters; it is how well you are prepared to die. ~~Colonel Robert B. Thieme, Jr.