What Do I Do With My Old School Notebooks?

June 11, 2014

File this one under “Things I keep because I think I’m supposed to.”

This post is for anyone who still has stacks of their old high school or college notebooks, textbooks, and homework assignments. Declutter your paper piles!

Most everyone I’ve ever worked with has had a raggedy collection of old school materials lying around: notebooks, textbooks, homework assignments and graded quizzes. You know what I mean because surely you have something similar.

The question inevitably arises; “What do I do with this?”

To which I say: it’s real talk time.

Whether or not you liked a particular course, you nonetheless devoted a considerable amount of time to it. Probably. You might have even learned a thing or two, and perhaps you produced work you felt proud of at the time. That’s lovely.

But still, why keep the study aids?

Chances are high that you’ve done so as a security measure; you want to retain whatever knowledge you gleaned from that class or teacher (an understandable desire), and so you hold onto the physical notebooks as a way to assuage your anxiety that you’ll forget all that information.

That way, if you happen to find yourself with a burning desire to re-immerse yourself in the world of freshman psych, algebra 2, or Tectonic Plates, you’re safeguarded.

Your keeping of the class materials represents the misguided notion that by doing so you’re also keeping the information.

But the truth is that you’re going to forget what you may, remember what you do, and, come the day when you just have to find out which play it was, after all, that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern originated from, you’re going to take not to the composition book circa 1999, but to The Google.

Let’s be real. Ya just are.

So here’s what: keep the assignments, if there are any, that you feel contribute to your significant individual history. A paper you recall slaving away on that, looking back, you think is still fairly respectable. Keep a syllabus for immediate reference if it contains a professor’s info with whom you’d like to reconnect.

But then, you know, move on. It’s okay, I swear. We’ll do it together.

on 3–into the recycling bin; ready?

1…

2…

you comment 3 when you’ve done the deed.

Image credits unknown 

31 Comments

  1. Meghan on June 11, 2014 at 7:33 am

    Totally agree – I just did this a few weeks ago. I learnt that covered ones can be recycled with your regular recycling. Hard covers have to be removed and only the pages can be recycled, not the cover (because of the glue). Charities don’t accept texts for donation. Obviously it may be different in your area.

  2. Dyane V on June 11, 2014 at 8:59 am

    Thank you for this. I have this on going project of decluttering. 50 plus years there is a lot of stuff. Clothes, I’m down to one unstuffed closet and drawer. Shoes, I actually wear out and replace. Books, office, craft and garden supplies are harder but I have found homes for items and then I donate my time to the groups to help them organize their stuff. But any of my written words are hard to release. Info junky i am but your article has pinpointed it for me. To the google I will go! I will start with my old notebooks and papers this weekend. I will have some laughs and cries and do the happy dance of release.

  3. Michaela on June 11, 2014 at 11:21 am

    I just did this last week and the title of your post struck a little bit of fear in my heart that you might say “This is the one thing you should definitely keep forever in a giant storage bin in your closet.” Phew. That was a close one.

    • Annie on June 13, 2014 at 3:34 pm

      Ha! Well breathe that sigh of relief; pretty rare that I’d utter those words.

    • Alicia on March 6, 2015 at 10:06 pm

      I laughed out loud when I read this! I would’ve thought exactly the same thing!

  4. Gina Maserang on June 11, 2014 at 7:57 pm

    It was Hamlet. (I didn’t even have to google it!)

  5. Elizabeth on June 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    I did this many years ago – but many years after college graduation. I realized that I was keeping all of those text books and papers as proof (to myself) that I was a smart person. As a stay-at-home Mom, I felt I needed that reassurance. Once I let it all go, I felt great!

    • Annie on June 25, 2014 at 8:14 am

      Love this comment, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing.

      • dreasf on October 22, 2014 at 8:36 pm

        All i needed to read right now! I am moving, and having a crisis trying to pack. Thanks.

        • Annie on November 2, 2014 at 10:50 am

          So happy to hear it was helpful for you!

  6. Courtney Haley on December 19, 2014 at 4:26 am

    I’m doing it today. Five years of post secondary school is tying into my closet space!

  7. Ari21 on February 18, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    I’m a hoarder, I have most of my notebooks since kindergarten, and now I’m a sophomore in college and really can’t get rid of them, they are just so pretty and filled with memories. Maybe one day I’ll toss them.

    • Sarah on March 19, 2015 at 5:10 pm

      I am literally the same way. I’m also a college sophomore and it’s so hard for me to throw out things that I made when I was a kid.

    • Evelyn on July 27, 2020 at 1:14 pm

      I have the exact same problem.

  8. Peggy on July 26, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    I just moved and want to throw out the boxes of old notebooks that I’ve moved many other times and never used. Then I open them and look and them and just can’t. It’s dumb. I also have a bunch of journals from my teen years. When I read them I remember how crazy teen life was and am so glad to be an adult now. I have a giant recycling bin that may be very full soon.

    • Annie on August 16, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Hope that bin filled up after reading this, lady!!

      • Sara on August 19, 2018 at 3:28 pm

        Keep the journals, but toss the rest. 🙂

  9. […] 5. Old study aids, coursework, and notes from long-ago concluded classes you took.  […]

  10. Joe B on May 18, 2017 at 7:24 am

    I did this the day i left school, But it took me ages because i wanted to rip them to pieces one page at a time, and then i burnt them all.

    • Annie on May 22, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Oh wow, sounds like that was some rage-editing you had happening there.

      • Joe B on January 13, 2018 at 9:44 am

        Its something i do every year with my friends

  11. Lucy on November 1, 2017 at 5:44 am

    My mum has just dumped the entire creative output of my formative childhood years on my doorstep as she’s moving house and it has sat in my living room weighing on me to sort and filter through for months! I have real issues when it comes to chucking things out as, like others, I feel it is proof that I did have creative talent before being ‘just a mum. I came across this when googling for help with what to do when overwhelmed with paraphernalia of the past! It’s really helped!

    • Annie on November 9, 2017 at 6:00 pm

      Wow, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comment, Lucy. I can tell you that you certainly aren’t alone; I have so many clients who experience the exact same scenario and feelings when their own mothers drop off the boxed proof of their entire schooling careers. The brightside for them, I find, is that being dumped on with large volumes of childhood-work illustrates for them the importance of not repeating the same situation with their children. In mass, it is a burden down the road. And the truth is, of course, none of us needs any THING from the past to own our life experiences. Proud of you for tackling this!

  12. Sakina on March 28, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    Trying to muster the courage to get through the heaps of paper and notebooks. This article really helps. Thanks!

  13. Angela on April 2, 2018 at 8:48 am

    Thank you. This post was very helpful. When I open a box of my old papers, re-read the research I did, the people I interviewed, the words I wrote that make me feel like I was once so intelligent…today, I can’t even think of the name of a movie or remember an important birthday! I feel proud that I was actually a very smart person and what the heck happened to me?! LOL! Interestingly, the keyword that I use often is “was.” I think I convince myself that maybe I can become that person again, even at my age (54). I think that is why I keep these papers and notebooks. As if, having them in storage reminds me that I can do it again! Also, I am embarrassed to say that I tell myself that when I die, my kids will read my papers and see how smart their mom really was! LOL! Isn’t that nuts? It’s like I want to keep it as proof to them that I am not just “mommy!” I am a really smart woman who had great ideas, someone who accomplished really important research. How do I let go of this stuff and still feel good about it?

    • Annie on April 9, 2018 at 2:03 pm

      I love that you left this comment, Angela, and I truly understand and hear what you’re saying. I also commend you for recognizing the thought patterns that are keeping you stuck with these papers.
      The most insightful part of your comment is your admission that the emphasis is on “was.” Seeing those papers is proof of your abilities, and you are fearful that by letting go of those papers, you lose that part of yourself and that history. But that, of course, isn’t the case at all. Those experiences, that work, that mental ability, is still within you, and your children surely see that demonstrated every day right in front of their eyes. (If they don’t hold you in high regard, or consider you to be intelligent, it’s sorta unlikely a research paper–WHICH THEY WILL NEVER READ!–will make them change their minds.) They will believe what they see, and what they see is who you are NOW.
      Your task is to stand strongly in who you are, to realize that the past is the past, and to take comfort in knowing that you have strengths you may choose to tap into anytime you wish. KNOW IT and you won’t need proof of it.
      xx

  14. Simon P on August 19, 2018 at 11:32 am

    BURN IT All

  15. Jacqi Rose on May 19, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    Looks like this thread has been asleep for a while, but I’m here to wake it up! I just opened a plastic tub that includes all of my notes from my MBA, which I finished 5 years ago. I have not opened this tub since graduation. But I still have trouble just recycling the whole tub. So I sat down and googled ‘inspiration to purge school notes’ and found this! I actually sent the quote about Rosencrantz and Gildenstern to my ‘decluttering support buddy’ and we both laughed. We will definitely take to The Google if we need information. Duh. And if I need to know any of this business stuff again, I will read current books or articles. I won’t go back five years. That’s just silly. Thanks for the inspiration!

    • Annie on May 22, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      YESSSS, thank you for this awesome comment, Jacqi!!! So, so proud of you for accepting the reality of this, and allowing yourself to release the old work. xoxo

    • KathleenR on July 9, 2020 at 9:08 pm

      YES! Jacqi, thank you!! I am doing the exact same thing with notes from my MBA. I went looking for inspo when I was finding it hard to part with my notes from a first term accounting course?? And all of my other courses to be honest. It was a fun time! I learned so much! I kept my filing cabinet so organized after we finished the courses that it would be easy to look stuff up, and… what if I need it one day?!
      My husband and I are about to move to Switzerland, and the cost:benefit ratio of keeping this stuff in a storage unit isn’t exactly working out in it’s favor. To the recycling bin!!

  16. Bernadette on January 26, 2023 at 4:08 am

    My teenage daughter didn’t want to throw out her biology notes because she had written them out so prettily. So she gave me the book to make something out of…
    Right now I just made her some bookmarks, cutting a rectangle from some of the best handwritten notes and laminating them. Out goes the rest of the book!
    This is a small idea if the thought of getting rid of everything is just too paralyzing. But I recommend a complete donation to the recycling bin, as then the temptation is to choose the best notes and that can be a distraction and time waster. Binning is best. When I binned my 4 years of uni notes the only feeling I had was a weight off my shoulders!

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31 Comments

  1. Meghan on June 11, 2014 at 7:33 am

    Totally agree – I just did this a few weeks ago. I learnt that covered ones can be recycled with your regular recycling. Hard covers have to be removed and only the pages can be recycled, not the cover (because of the glue). Charities don’t accept texts for donation. Obviously it may be different in your area.

  2. Dyane V on June 11, 2014 at 8:59 am

    Thank you for this. I have this on going project of decluttering. 50 plus years there is a lot of stuff. Clothes, I’m down to one unstuffed closet and drawer. Shoes, I actually wear out and replace. Books, office, craft and garden supplies are harder but I have found homes for items and then I donate my time to the groups to help them organize their stuff. But any of my written words are hard to release. Info junky i am but your article has pinpointed it for me. To the google I will go! I will start with my old notebooks and papers this weekend. I will have some laughs and cries and do the happy dance of release.

  3. Michaela on June 11, 2014 at 11:21 am

    I just did this last week and the title of your post struck a little bit of fear in my heart that you might say “This is the one thing you should definitely keep forever in a giant storage bin in your closet.” Phew. That was a close one.

    • Annie on June 13, 2014 at 3:34 pm

      Ha! Well breathe that sigh of relief; pretty rare that I’d utter those words.

    • Alicia on March 6, 2015 at 10:06 pm

      I laughed out loud when I read this! I would’ve thought exactly the same thing!

  4. Gina Maserang on June 11, 2014 at 7:57 pm

    It was Hamlet. (I didn’t even have to google it!)

  5. Elizabeth on June 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    I did this many years ago – but many years after college graduation. I realized that I was keeping all of those text books and papers as proof (to myself) that I was a smart person. As a stay-at-home Mom, I felt I needed that reassurance. Once I let it all go, I felt great!

    • Annie on June 25, 2014 at 8:14 am

      Love this comment, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing.

      • dreasf on October 22, 2014 at 8:36 pm

        All i needed to read right now! I am moving, and having a crisis trying to pack. Thanks.

        • Annie on November 2, 2014 at 10:50 am

          So happy to hear it was helpful for you!

  6. Courtney Haley on December 19, 2014 at 4:26 am

    I’m doing it today. Five years of post secondary school is tying into my closet space!

  7. Ari21 on February 18, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    I’m a hoarder, I have most of my notebooks since kindergarten, and now I’m a sophomore in college and really can’t get rid of them, they are just so pretty and filled with memories. Maybe one day I’ll toss them.

    • Sarah on March 19, 2015 at 5:10 pm

      I am literally the same way. I’m also a college sophomore and it’s so hard for me to throw out things that I made when I was a kid.

    • Evelyn on July 27, 2020 at 1:14 pm

      I have the exact same problem.

  8. Peggy on July 26, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    I just moved and want to throw out the boxes of old notebooks that I’ve moved many other times and never used. Then I open them and look and them and just can’t. It’s dumb. I also have a bunch of journals from my teen years. When I read them I remember how crazy teen life was and am so glad to be an adult now. I have a giant recycling bin that may be very full soon.

    • Annie on August 16, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Hope that bin filled up after reading this, lady!!

      • Sara on August 19, 2018 at 3:28 pm

        Keep the journals, but toss the rest. 🙂

  9. […] 5. Old study aids, coursework, and notes from long-ago concluded classes you took.  […]

  10. Joe B on May 18, 2017 at 7:24 am

    I did this the day i left school, But it took me ages because i wanted to rip them to pieces one page at a time, and then i burnt them all.

    • Annie on May 22, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Oh wow, sounds like that was some rage-editing you had happening there.

      • Joe B on January 13, 2018 at 9:44 am

        Its something i do every year with my friends

  11. Lucy on November 1, 2017 at 5:44 am

    My mum has just dumped the entire creative output of my formative childhood years on my doorstep as she’s moving house and it has sat in my living room weighing on me to sort and filter through for months! I have real issues when it comes to chucking things out as, like others, I feel it is proof that I did have creative talent before being ‘just a mum. I came across this when googling for help with what to do when overwhelmed with paraphernalia of the past! It’s really helped!

    • Annie on November 9, 2017 at 6:00 pm

      Wow, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comment, Lucy. I can tell you that you certainly aren’t alone; I have so many clients who experience the exact same scenario and feelings when their own mothers drop off the boxed proof of their entire schooling careers. The brightside for them, I find, is that being dumped on with large volumes of childhood-work illustrates for them the importance of not repeating the same situation with their children. In mass, it is a burden down the road. And the truth is, of course, none of us needs any THING from the past to own our life experiences. Proud of you for tackling this!

  12. Sakina on March 28, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    Trying to muster the courage to get through the heaps of paper and notebooks. This article really helps. Thanks!

  13. Angela on April 2, 2018 at 8:48 am

    Thank you. This post was very helpful. When I open a box of my old papers, re-read the research I did, the people I interviewed, the words I wrote that make me feel like I was once so intelligent…today, I can’t even think of the name of a movie or remember an important birthday! I feel proud that I was actually a very smart person and what the heck happened to me?! LOL! Interestingly, the keyword that I use often is “was.” I think I convince myself that maybe I can become that person again, even at my age (54). I think that is why I keep these papers and notebooks. As if, having them in storage reminds me that I can do it again! Also, I am embarrassed to say that I tell myself that when I die, my kids will read my papers and see how smart their mom really was! LOL! Isn’t that nuts? It’s like I want to keep it as proof to them that I am not just “mommy!” I am a really smart woman who had great ideas, someone who accomplished really important research. How do I let go of this stuff and still feel good about it?

    • Annie on April 9, 2018 at 2:03 pm

      I love that you left this comment, Angela, and I truly understand and hear what you’re saying. I also commend you for recognizing the thought patterns that are keeping you stuck with these papers.
      The most insightful part of your comment is your admission that the emphasis is on “was.” Seeing those papers is proof of your abilities, and you are fearful that by letting go of those papers, you lose that part of yourself and that history. But that, of course, isn’t the case at all. Those experiences, that work, that mental ability, is still within you, and your children surely see that demonstrated every day right in front of their eyes. (If they don’t hold you in high regard, or consider you to be intelligent, it’s sorta unlikely a research paper–WHICH THEY WILL NEVER READ!–will make them change their minds.) They will believe what they see, and what they see is who you are NOW.
      Your task is to stand strongly in who you are, to realize that the past is the past, and to take comfort in knowing that you have strengths you may choose to tap into anytime you wish. KNOW IT and you won’t need proof of it.
      xx

  14. Simon P on August 19, 2018 at 11:32 am

    BURN IT All

  15. Jacqi Rose on May 19, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    Looks like this thread has been asleep for a while, but I’m here to wake it up! I just opened a plastic tub that includes all of my notes from my MBA, which I finished 5 years ago. I have not opened this tub since graduation. But I still have trouble just recycling the whole tub. So I sat down and googled ‘inspiration to purge school notes’ and found this! I actually sent the quote about Rosencrantz and Gildenstern to my ‘decluttering support buddy’ and we both laughed. We will definitely take to The Google if we need information. Duh. And if I need to know any of this business stuff again, I will read current books or articles. I won’t go back five years. That’s just silly. Thanks for the inspiration!

    • Annie on May 22, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      YESSSS, thank you for this awesome comment, Jacqi!!! So, so proud of you for accepting the reality of this, and allowing yourself to release the old work. xoxo

    • KathleenR on July 9, 2020 at 9:08 pm

      YES! Jacqi, thank you!! I am doing the exact same thing with notes from my MBA. I went looking for inspo when I was finding it hard to part with my notes from a first term accounting course?? And all of my other courses to be honest. It was a fun time! I learned so much! I kept my filing cabinet so organized after we finished the courses that it would be easy to look stuff up, and… what if I need it one day?!
      My husband and I are about to move to Switzerland, and the cost:benefit ratio of keeping this stuff in a storage unit isn’t exactly working out in it’s favor. To the recycling bin!!

  16. Bernadette on January 26, 2023 at 4:08 am

    My teenage daughter didn’t want to throw out her biology notes because she had written them out so prettily. So she gave me the book to make something out of…
    Right now I just made her some bookmarks, cutting a rectangle from some of the best handwritten notes and laminating them. Out goes the rest of the book!
    This is a small idea if the thought of getting rid of everything is just too paralyzing. But I recommend a complete donation to the recycling bin, as then the temptation is to choose the best notes and that can be a distraction and time waster. Binning is best. When I binned my 4 years of uni notes the only feeling I had was a weight off my shoulders!

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