Do you keep birthday cards?

I am rather sentimental and will keep just about anything but my hubby wonders why I do this! I have kept their 'congratulations on baby' cards and their 1st brithday cards. I now have all these 2nd birthday cards and the hubby says get rid! But I just can't so I think I am going to keep a selected few for each year. I have their 'baby's first Christmas' cards but then what? What do you do?

 

I'm sentimental about that kind of thing too, but I also HATE clutter and have way too much of it. So I've been forced to realize that I can't save cards or I will go insane. I have saved a couple of anniversary cards from DH that are really special to me, but I toss the kids' cards as well as most of my own.

If you save a few cards each year, think of how quickly you will fill up a shoebox. And then where do you put that shoebox that you'll probably never open again, and the next one, and the next one...? That's how I try to think of it, at least.

 

Im so like you and love keeping all these types of things When Alisha and I where in NICU when we were born our older sister and brother made us a scrapbook each with out names decorated on it and a sweet little message in them. Its an A4 scrapbook and I made it my card book.. all the cards that I have from all my birthdays and some Christmases. Some of them been lost but the ones I still have are added every year. I have a page or 2/section for year. So for example for my first bday section on the top of the page/s is written. 1 Years Old in 1992.

Maybe you can do something similar? And if you take good care of it you'll have it for years. I had to redo some of the pages last year as some of the cards went unstuck but I have add that scrapbook for 18 years and its still in great condition.

 

I only keep the ones that my DH and I have given the kids.

 

I only keep the ones that are from Dh & I, and the grandparents. If there are any that are cute or I like, I cut out and use in their scrapbook.

 

I keep all their cards each year -- the ones from family at holidays that are specifically addressed to them and their birthday cards. I also give my kids cards at Easter, Halloween and Valentine's day so they have those too. I tie a ribbon around the cards from each year. I found a big box (not huge but bigger than a shoe box) at Michael's that fits the bigger cards perfectly and I put them in there in chronological order. Their box will probably be filled by the time they are 18 and they can take it or toss it when they decide to.

I have only kept a few of their clothes and have kept a few smaller toys that were their favorites, but most of their stuff goes to charity or I sell at the multiples yard sale twice a year. I figure cards take up less space and have their loved ones handwriting on them so I keep them. My mom passed 8 years ago so her signature (or any of her writing) is very special to me -- I guess that's why the cards are important to me.

Mendy

 

I keep it all as well. Birthday, christmas, and for all of us. I will put them in a big envelope, label it, and stick it in a box in the basement. It doesn't take up all that much space. I don't know why either. I like the idea that someone else posted about using cutouts from the cards for scrapbooking!

 

This is SO hard, as it creates so much clutter in the house! I've kept some 'congrats baby' and a couple of birthday cards, mainly from grandparents, for their baby books. Other than that, they go. I have to FORCE myself to throw them out, but I do. If it doesn't fit in the baby book out it goes..

I have the same problem with their artwork from daycare. But DH brought it into perspective one day by saying, "look, if it's something you can TELL they did, keep it. If it's a collage or just glue on paper or whatever, why keep it??" Good point hubby! And I've stuck to it.

 

I don't keep bday cards because they get too many of them. I do keep valentines cards, easter cards, etc...that we or the grandparents give to them.

 

I keep every card the kids get. ardon: I have a box for each of them that they go in. I just can't throw them away for some reason. :blush:

 

I kept the shower and 1st birthday cards then I wondered why, are the kids really going to care in 20 years that some lady I used to work with and they have never met came to my baby shower?? Most just had the givers name in them, not special messages or anything. Now when the kids get cards I cut out any cute pictures the girls can use for arts & crafts and throw the rest away.

 

I used to and then I started watching Hoarders on A&E :blink: and it motivated me to toss a lot of 'stuff' I was holding on to for sentimental reasons. The only greeting cards I have saved now are the ones DH and I have sent one another. We generally don't buy one another gifts, but write letters to one another in an occasion-appropriate card instead. It was nice to go back and read the cards from 11 years ago when I was cleaning :wub:

 

Nope. They hang around the house for a few weeks, then I toss them. Now that the girls are able to handle scissors, I let them cut the pictures out of the cards and do a craft with them. I just can't deal with too much stuff.
I also don't keep their preschool work and the 100 billion drawings they produce. I'm sure they will think I'm totally unsentimental in the future.

 

I don't keep cards... just can't deal with the clutter. I have a box of other sentimental stuff, and I will probably keep a lot of their artwork - we already have some fingerpaintings framed, etc. But if it gets too cluttery, it's gone! I just don't have the space to store it without it infringing upon our living space.

 

I keep every card and i basically puncture two holes on the side of each and bind them together with a ribbon, so it becomes a "book" IYWIM. I do this for their birthday cards and christmas. The christmas one is for the whole family but they each have their own for birthdays (in their memory box that they'll get when they're grown) and every year, i just add the new ones to their "book". Maybe I'm just nuts, but i hope they'll like it

 

Thanks for the replies ladies. Have decided to keep the ones from us and grandparents/sister - just can't throw them out!

 

I feel the same way with not wanting to throw those beautiful cards out especially from 1st birthday. I did the same thing used the ribbons and them in a beautiful shoe box for each of my twins.

1) Instead of throwing them out in the garbage--recylce them

OR

2) Personalized Placemats! Cut out all of the birthday cards with your funky scissors, I brought my heavy construction paper (50 sheets) at Michae's store (size is 12 X 18"). I pre-cut everything for front/back (whatever fit onto the placemats). I let my twins' use glue sticks (acid free) and then I decided to get those cute glitter glues and put their names on it. I took it to our local Kinkos to be laminated. *I think any office store do sell self-adhesive laminate but I never seen them. Other ideas you can do your kids' favorite character stickers, print out photos, cut out kids' toy catalogs, use beautiful scrap papers to make letters (ABCs or 123) in sequence order, and etc. And you can let your kids use it or just to show it to them and save those placemats for as a keepsake (One sheet per year save the space!)

3) Cut them out and glue it onto a blank brown box and use it as a gift to someone (or become a goodies box)

 

I live in a house, not a castle. I only save things that have personal messages written in them, and I don't mean "Happy Birthday!" in someone's handwriting. A real letter, or a cartoon drawing (my mother draws very elaborate holiday cartoons in her cards)--those I will save. A greeting card that someone got because they always get a card with a gift gets tossed. I like the various re-use ideas some PPs have mentioned (crafts, placemats), but most cards just aren't that personal and my poor kids would already be burdened with boxes to lug around of stuff that didn't matter to them at the time, possibly from people they don't remember/never met.

I save only really special examples of their artwork as well. One or two a month.

I'm harsh.

 

Ditto Ruby! I keep letters and cards with something meaningful written in them. Signed greeting cards are kept on display for a couple of weeks and then recycled. I let the kids keep the photo holiday cards for a year because they like to flip through them asking about the people in the photos. When the new ones start to come in, the old ones are retired to the recycle bin. I keep a few art projects but most of them I have the kids hang in their room where they will eventually be wrecked.

My methods make my husband crazy because he cannot throw anything away. The piles of dusty boxes in the shed are evidence that his way is not working so I've taken over and am going through things before we lose the house to his clutter.

 

I purchased a large wrapping paper box for each child. I keep their artwork in it. However, I currently only keep artwork that has their hand, foot, fingerprint on it or something extra special. I make sure to date it. Of course I don't need such a large box at this point; however, I'm hoping that it will be big enough to last throughout their schooling. For all the other artwork they bring home . . . I keep until the end of the month and then I arrange it close together and then take a picture of it and then it all goes to the trash (except for those items I stated above). Does that make sense?

I plan to keep greeting cards that are special. However, I will put all others in a box beside their bed and they can look at them (read them) while they are resting.