So I have mentioned a fewwwwww times, that I am purging things for upcoming travels. I have, as a result many (many, many) pages of journals and old letters that I am saying goodbye to. My plan was to burn them but as far as I can tell there is a fire ban in BC and I don’t know anyone with a fireplace… plus it is summer and we are not cold enough to be burning fires just yet.
What have you done or what can you suggest to ceremoniously say goodbye to things like this? (Both because you want a proper send-off and also because you have a ~maybe slightly irrational~ fear that someone will grab the entire garbage bag of torn papers from the alley where you leave the trash and put them back together and reveal all of your secrets?)
I would put them in storage. You may want to revisit them in later years. I plan to go through mine and enter into Word anything I think is worth saving. But imagine, 400 years from now, someone finds your journals and learns what it was like to be alive now.
I should have added, I have gone through them page by page. Some have been typed up into notes for a rainy day, some have made it to become scenes in the novel in process, others have become (or will become) substack volumes, some have been sent to loved ones to say "hey, I was thinking about you that day".
The rest... should never be read by anyone. Not even I needed to read the rest haha!
When I did my Step 4 in AA, I took great pleasure in burning it all. I have burnt letters to my ex. I found it really cathartic. I did once think I could set some slight in a big pot on the stove. Forgot about the smoke. And the fire alarm. Barring fire, I guess I’d shred it. Or storage if you think you’ll ever look at it again (or can afford storage).
Being in BC, I had a similar problem recently. Don't try to burn things inside! I tried that and it was kinda a mess! What I ultimately decided to do was shred and pulp - you could use the pulp to make a paper mache something else out of them, maybe? Although you are trying to get rid of stuff ... hmmm.
I put some of my pulp into composting, but that might not be ceremonious enough.
I tore mine into pieces and put half the page of torn up pieces in one bin bag and half in another. I put the first bag out and then waited a week and put the other out. haha. But I will say, one day I came downstairs to see squares of paper all over the road! One of the bags had split and there were my words all over the road in front of my apartment. I ran around collecting them all and scrunching them up! (A shredder would have been easier :)
Oh my word! This was a rollercoaster but also a very wise idea.
I have already shredded mine by hand into tiny pieces, saying my thanks for the lessons and chapters as I did so. I think splitting between bags might be the way to go here! Thank you 🧡🧡🧡
I would put them in storage. You may want to revisit them in later years. I plan to go through mine and enter into Word anything I think is worth saving. But imagine, 400 years from now, someone finds your journals and learns what it was like to be alive now.
I should have added, I have gone through them page by page. Some have been typed up into notes for a rainy day, some have made it to become scenes in the novel in process, others have become (or will become) substack volumes, some have been sent to loved ones to say "hey, I was thinking about you that day".
The rest... should never be read by anyone. Not even I needed to read the rest haha!
When I did my Step 4 in AA, I took great pleasure in burning it all. I have burnt letters to my ex. I found it really cathartic. I did once think I could set some slight in a big pot on the stove. Forgot about the smoke. And the fire alarm. Barring fire, I guess I’d shred it. Or storage if you think you’ll ever look at it again (or can afford storage).
I have already taken what I want and torn the rest into tiny pieces. So now they are just tiny things I want to say goodbye to properly.
But I have also tried the pot on the stove, I saw it in a movie once and I had the same misfortune haha! 🧡
We may have watched the same movie. 😂
HAHA! Yes!
Burning
Shredding
Soaking in water then
Tearing to pieces
I’ve also made kusudama with it
WOW! Kusudama is fascinating, I love that you did that.
I also like the idea of soaking it in water... this might be the solution 🧡🧡🧡
I saw a reel of someone turning it into recycled paper!
I need to look this up! Ahhhh that is so cool!
I am down a google rabbit hole, I love this!
Being in BC, I had a similar problem recently. Don't try to burn things inside! I tried that and it was kinda a mess! What I ultimately decided to do was shred and pulp - you could use the pulp to make a paper mache something else out of them, maybe? Although you are trying to get rid of stuff ... hmmm.
I put some of my pulp into composting, but that might not be ceremonious enough.
HAHA! I tried that once too and WAS NOT PREPARED hahahaha 🧡
I love the idea of composting. I think that is a beautiful way to do it. Thank you so much!
I tore mine into pieces and put half the page of torn up pieces in one bin bag and half in another. I put the first bag out and then waited a week and put the other out. haha. But I will say, one day I came downstairs to see squares of paper all over the road! One of the bags had split and there were my words all over the road in front of my apartment. I ran around collecting them all and scrunching them up! (A shredder would have been easier :)
Oh my word! This was a rollercoaster but also a very wise idea.
I have already shredded mine by hand into tiny pieces, saying my thanks for the lessons and chapters as I did so. I think splitting between bags might be the way to go here! Thank you 🧡🧡🧡