What do you do with gifts from your ex?

[Daligal83]

I'm moving to a new apartment in a couple weeks so I'm packing up my stuff. I still have presents from my ex that I broke up with over a year ago. Some stuff I have no problem keeping because it's decorative. But he made me this shadow box for our 6 month anniversary that has all this stuff about our relationship in it. I had it hanging on my wall until we broke up, and then I just put it in a closet. Now I have to decide what to do with it.

 

We're not on bad terms...but I've only seen him once since the breakup. Mostly my doing. I'm not that interested in a friendship. We IM each other occasionally.

 

So I don't know what to do with this thing. It's pretty big, so I have to make a decision. I feel bad throwing it out, but I have no use for it now. My friend suggested taking the objects out of it and using it for something else, but everything is glued in there.

 

Ideas?

[Daligal83]

Well, that's the point...I'm moving so I have to decide if I'm going to pack it or throw it out. I have one closet in my new apartment, so not a ton of storage space. It's not as easy as moving it from closet to closet.

[renaissancewoman101]

Yes, I'd keep it. That way, down the road, you can look back on it fondly (for the memories), esp since you guys didn't have a nasty breakup.

 

Are you moving to a smaller apt? (maybe you can keep it at your parents' house or something)

[Daligal83]

The rooms are bigger. It's just that I'm going from a building made as an apartment building to a Victorian home that has been split up into apartments. So it has oddly shaped rooms and only one closet. I could shove it in a corner. I guess I feel weird packing it, like it still has significance, and I feel weird throwing it out, like I'm being disrespectful.

[renaissancewoman101]

Can you keep it like at your parents'?

 

I would feel bad about throwing it out, but that's me. I don't usually throw things out that my ex's give me.

[Daligal83]

I don't usually either. Like I said, I'm keeping the decorative stuff. This one was sentimental though. I didn't know what to do with a picture of us either...but I just took out the picture and used the frame for pictures of my niece. That one had a much easier solution lol.

[shikashika]

I still have stuff from exes of 10 years ago.. It was nice stuff! Even if they are guys that I haven't seen for 5 years, the stuff I have reminds me of the nice times we had together. i have jewellry, clothing, all sorts of stuff,

 

I never understand why people need to destroy any reminders of exes, whether that be through gifts they were given, emails, photos, facebook etc.

 

I never like to lose contact with people I have met, exes or not.

 

I have some great jewellry that i will never get rid of.

[Daligal83]

What about things you can't use though? This will just sit in another closet because I'm not going to hang something like this up on the wall.

[renaissancewoman101]

What about things you can't use though? This will just sit in another closet because I'm not going to hang something like this up on the wall.

 

I still keep stuff from my ex's that I don't use, like old cards, drawings he made (he was an aspiring artist), etc., just for memory's sake. I also have stuffed animals he gave me. They sit in the back of my closet or in a box, gathering dust. But I likes keeping things around. Not that I will use them again either.

[hers]

I think since you're on good terms with your ex, keep it. It's sentimental and it's not like he's out of your life for good on bad terms. It may be a nice reminder later down the road and if you get rid of it, you may regret it.

[Kain27]

If you're not on bad terms with the guy i'd suggest keeping it. It's always nice to look back at something down the road. If you're having a tough decision about it chances are it's worth keeping. I'm still deciding on what i want to do with my box of "goodies" from over a year ago now...

 

It sounds like you should keep it.