Sentimental cards-any ideas what to do with them?

[Susieloo]

We are in the process of having a huge clear out of our fairly tiny house in perpetration for a new baby and I've come across some valentines cards and this years fathers day cards etc that it seems a shame to just bin them but I also know if I don't they will end up in a box somewhere probably under the bed not to be seen again for a few years (although I do like finding stuff like this when I forgot it was there) anyone have any useful ideas?

Preparation!!

I keep stuff like that in a box under the bed but I do occasionally get them out when feeling in a gooey hormonal mood to have a look through. I still have every card DH has ever given me

I would be ruthless and chuck them. Sorry.

Chuck them

I did used to keep this stuff but now chuck it . I so much prefer being clutter free. But then I take thousands of photographs so that's how I keep all my memories alive .

I use those folders with clear pockets. pop open cards in them so you can see the front and read the card!

I love checking out the cards from DD birth sometimes.

It nearly broke my heart to do it but i cut pretty much all our sentimental cards up in to two inch squre pieces. I have millions of them all neatly colour/texture coded in take away boxes, ready to be made in to a big mosaic picture. Im going to leave it for a couple of years till the kids are older (4 & 18mths now) so they can help come up with a design. Ive done the same with sentimental old clothes, reckon i`ll have enough scraps to make them a blanket each when they leave home.
Its hoarding, but with a purpose :)

everything else gets Laminated :)

You should go into business with that blanket idea, Laminator. I could send you all the dcs' baby clothes and you could make them into a blanket for me...

I figured that as my Mum can't produce any of the cards I had from birth onwards, I don't need to either. Can't see the DSs wanting to see them ever, or want them cluttering up their house when they move out.

traffichalter - NOOOOOOO!! dont send me any more stuff got too much of my own stuff to do!!!

Both the cards mosaics & the blankets are a little idea I have chugging away though...
We are downsizing for a bit then moving abroad soon, so cant wait to have a workshop/studio in our future gaff to get on with some projects.

Really good point about cards re the baby, didn't think about that at all so think I need to be a bit more ruthless and agree sparkling I have never seen the cards that my mum had when she had me and my brothers, I might keep a couple from really close family and put them at the back of a photo album although I'm rubbish at remembering to take pictures.

Sparkling, my mum didn't keep ours because with four kids and a shoebox of a house, hoarding was not an option! Dh's mum religiously kept all his, handed them all over to him when he bought our first house and he promptly binned them all!

I have two DSs who I'm pretty sure will not want all that clutter when they set up their own house. I have done baby books and I'm doing a School Memories book and Christmas memories and other than that they will have all the photos that will be stored digitally.

I use mine as book marks in my (many) cookery books so that I come across them occasionally and read them again.

We have a scrapbook for each of our kids, and one for us..... anything REALLY special goes in these - if not it gets chucked.....

Could you photograph or scan the really sentimental ones? Or how about a large clip frame and make a collage?

Great ideas thank you, I had thought about a clip frame with some of the baby cards from close family, love the idea of book marks too.