AIBU to throw away postcards?

[Sunbo]

My DC (3&6) sometimes receive postcards from relatives on holiday, mainly their grandparents, great aunt and sometimes a cousin (maybe 8-10 a year in total).

They look at them / read them when they arrive, then I put the postcard up on the fridge at home for around a week, and then I bin them.

My DS told me that yesterday when his nan (my MIL) was looking after him that she asked him if he had received her postcard she sent a few weeks ago, he said yes, then she said “what does your mum do with the postcards? Does she throw them away?”...”well you need to tell your mum that she shouldn’t do that, she needs to keep them all and put them in a book so you can look at them”

Firstly, AIBU to throw postcards away? I do now feel a bit bad as they are for the DC but then I hate clutter and hoarding things, I didn’t think they were particularly sentimental and that I was doing anything wrong.

Secondly, I am very annoyed that my MIL (who is a hoarder) says to my DC to tell me what I should / shouldn’t be doing with things (it’s not the first time!). AIBU?

YANBU. Any cards here are kept for around a week and then put in the recycling. I highly doubt your kids will be bothered about not having postcards to look at when they're grown up.

I can't remember the last time I received a postcard, but yes, a week on the fridge followed by the recycling bin sounds about right to me!

I have various letters, postcards etc. that were sent to me by my grandparents when I was a small child - now they are dead, it's a nice memento to have. Perhaps don't keep them all, but save a representative selection - put in a scrapbook or keepsake box, they wouldn't take up too much room.

I should have said, it is the recycling bin they go into!

Take a quick snap of both sides on your phone, keep them (electronically!) in a folder called digital scrapbook for kids or something similar, then when mil interrogates you can say you’ve saved them for posterity whilst still being able to throw the originals away.

And in 20 years time your dc might like to look at them, they may want to hit delete but you’ve given them that option.

Good god no, YANBU. I put all cards, kids drawings etc into recycling/bin. I cannot stand clutter. I have a box each for kids with the odd picture they drew, a news copy from junior classes, school reports - all fit into their box.

If your MIL says anything to you tell her straight out you are not a hoarder and won't be encouraging your kids to be either.

And if you want to see hoarding, watch Consumed on Netflix - raises my blood pressure

Lord no YANBU. What a load of pointless clutter, once it has been received, read and enjoyed it has served its purpose and then can go. MIL's house must be stuffed to the rafters with her in the middle scrapbooking under Clutter Mountain!

My collections of postcards are a treasured possessions. In the days before my family had phones my auntie and grandma used to regularly send me postcards. One from 1960 just says 'Hope you enjoyed your first day at the infants'. Would never get rid of them.
I also have my grandma's collection of postcard correspondence with her sisters from the 1890s and with an unknown lover during WW1. So glad they were never destroyed and came to me for safety. I love the social history of both collections. Sorry to bore on!