@austinmshauri You are correct regarding my siblings remark. I mistakenly attributed the comments of another poster to the OP. Thanks for clarifying.
I’m of mixed feelings about this. The geneologist/historian in me has learned over the past six months of diving deep into DH’s history that clues can come from anywhere, and scraps of clues can solve mysteries that go back decades. I’m so thankful my BIL saved every piece of paper that remotely related to family members as he spent 2.5 years (!) sorting through my IL’s apartment. It made for an amazing geneology trip this past summer in what used to be Galicia. My gift to DH and BIL is unpeeling the onion on a splintered family and finding some of the really interesting stories. My kids now know their Jewish roots.
OTOH, I have the entire correspondence between me and my former fiance, and I found a box of my letters to DH when we were dating long distance. Not sure I want to keep them, but will add that to the things to do on my bucket list. Will shred or burn if I get rid of them.
I found a box of my parents’ correspondence in the early 80s, but haven’t seen it since.
My dad is of the “just toss it” mindset, mainly because he doesn’t want people arguing about things. He did this when packing up his parents’ house and caused some very hard feelings. My sibs and I are working with my dad preemptively to save the things we consider valuable. This has gone much better than we ever expected.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Seems like a good place to close.