Originally Posted by
SteveinMN
I'm so sorry, corkym.
Your husband's lifetime of achievements is not being thrown out as you dispose of items. Your marriage, the children you raised, the success you have had in life so far -- none of those are erased by giving away or tossing items which have no use for you. They are just symbols of the life he led. Giving his old trophies so some new ball players can participate in sports and win a trophy does not diminish your DH's prowess. Along those same lines, if some sort of natural disaster occcurred even while both of you were alive and you had mere minutes to get out of the house, not saving that printed diploma does not take away DH's education or intelligence. We here have largely internalized that "we are not our stuff". Your husband is not, either. He lives on in memory regardless of what physical notations exist. Keep what you'd like and do not feel bad about disposing of the rest responsibly.