If you have no children, do you keep all your childhood photos etc?

[BarrellingAlong]

I feel really weird about this. Like nobody's going to care once I die, so they'll probably be dumped in the bin? I mean obviously that will happen with my stuff anyway as no descendants but with things like baby photos, I dunno it just makes me sad?

Anyone else in a similar position?

If you have close nieces or nephews they may want them as it’s family history.

m it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about, but it does seem a little sad. Though I guess it won’t really matter in the end.

My Mom died recently so I have to go through things in her house, which I am dreading, and think I might as well put all the photos of me/ family who have died in the bin. They won't be of interest to anyone in years to come. It seems rather sad though!

You never know who they will be of interest to. You can still look at them and enjoy them now.

The ones that show old fashions, old machinery, old landscapes etc … will always interest someone even if they don’t know who you are.

And having children makes little difference in the long run. Within a couple of generations very few people are left who can identify who is who.

I have one cousin, I doubt she'd want these photos. Maybe one or two, I will ask her.

Strangely, I've just been going through photos of my childfree auntie. She died recently.

I enjoyed it. It was nice seeing her through the years. I'll keep the majority, other than the random snaps of squirrels that she has.

I'll keep mine too. I'd hope my family might be interested!

The thing is.. Even if you have children, they might really dislike you and shred the lot!

I’ve just been through this same thought process as I have no kids and I’m moving. I’ve binned most of my photos. I have no one to leave them to and it’s just crap someone else to going to have to clear out when I die.

Oh I totally agree having kids doesn't guarantee much.

I just mean, in our family, the photos were treasured and passed down. I like having pics of my great granny as I remember her and liked her.

But after me, there is nobody close enough left that would want them.

Take photos of them and upload them on to something. I have loads of old photos that mean a lot to me.x

I already lost mine…

I would digitise them and send it to some local history archive, or if you can’t find one create a website

Or start an archive archive for 20th women with no kids to pass photos to… you’ll get a piece in the guardian in no time..

Also, Swedish death cleaning.

I'm sorry about your mom.

Please don't make this decision right now. Give it a year (at least) and see how you feel then.

You're here now. You matter and the memories matter to you. That's what counts. Keep them safe somewhere. It's a way for you to connect with your relationship with your mom.

I can relate to your "what's the point" type feeling you are voicing, but you are early in grieving and your feelings will almost certainly change. Don't make rash irreversible decisions right now.

I have just turned 40 and am in the process of chucking away large amounts of stuff. In 15, 20 years’ time I won’t have any relatives left at all, and I don’t want to get to the stage where I’m no longer capable of deciding for myself what to do with things.

I have albums of photos of my childless great aunt. I treasure them but when I'm gone there'll be no one left who remembers her. There are also pictures of her DH, who died before I was born but I don't feel right about throwing them out.

I like the photos I have of my great grandparents even though I never met/knew them.