How Long Should You Save Cards From Your Indiana Family & Friends?

Over the years, I've been given an assortment of greeting cards. While I always appreciate the thought associated with each one, I've always wondered how long you should hold onto them before tossing them. For me, I usually stick them on my refrigerator for a few weeks and then place them in a shoebox with the rest of the ones I've been given over the years. Currently, I have three shoe boxes full, and I think it's time I did something about it.

I'm a person who does not require a lot of material things to be content. I don't have a lot of possessions, and the ones I do have are associated with very little sentimental attachment. It's usually not hard for me to throw things away, but I've always felt guilty about throwing cards out. It's been a long time since I sifted through my old boxes, but I'm sure there are some cards from family members who have since passed on that I'd like to hold onto. According to Simply Spaced, there are a number of ways you can go about addressing the issue.

Discard Some Cards

Simply Spaced has eased my conscience about disposing of some of the old generic cards that have no personalized message attached. Apparently, it's okay to throw those out or even repurpose them to make someone else's day. When it comes to cutting down your assortment of cards even further, Simply Spaced recommends asking yourself how many you can read in one sitting and then cutting your collection down to where you can do just that. For me, I'd need to get down to less than half of one box.

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Display Them

If you want to save space in a shoebox, you can always get a bulletin board and pin your favorite cards up there. You could also do what I do and leave them on your fridge for whatever duration you choose. At least this way, you can see them, and they're not just collecting dust unnoticed.

Store & Label

When you have the cards you plan to hold onto a bit longer, you should consider storing and labeling them to make them easier to look back on in the future. That is, of course, if you're not going to display them. Simply Spaced recommends grouping your cards by occasion, year, person, or sentiment. You can then label your card categories with post-it notes or print labels and store them in a box or specific container.

Digitize Your Cards

​Digitizing your memories is a great way to avoid guilt when throwing away your cards. You can either take a picture of the card with your phone or scan it onto your computer to ensure you capture the message in clear detail. A few years ago, I had a box of old home movies on VHS that I decided to digitize to save space. I went from a large box of VHS tapes to just one tiny USB hard drive that is now stored in a fireproof box. I copied them onto a backup drive as well to ensure I never lost the footage. Until now, I never thought about doing that with greeting cards, but it's now on my running to-do list.

Whether you plan to scan your cards onto a device, or display them in your home or office, there is still the question of how long you should keep those physical copies. I suppose the answer to that question is subjective to the person asking it, but if you want my opinion, I think a couple of days or weeks at most is plenty of time to imprint the kind thought into your memories. That said, if you'd rather keep them longer, that is certainly an option if you have a good storage plan.