Task of shredding journals - advice please

sixtiesgal_2

Hi, basically I have a task on, I am doing a project with two friends and my goal this week is to decide what to do about my journals. This decision has been ongoing for some time but now I aim to do something about it. I have a locked tin full of journals scanning the past ten years. I did have some prior to this but threw them out and have regretted it ever since. I do worry about privacy or members of my family coming across them when I am gone and they are sorting out my stuff. For this reason I decided scanning them would be a good idea but with my flat bed scanner it was looking to be a huge task so I paid a company to scan them for me, it wasn't too cheap! My idea then was to shred the paper journals and start keeping future ones on the laptop. My plan isn't working. I find I am reluctant to get rid of the physical copies, even though I have them scanned. I have been rereading one of them and realise that having them on the screen is just not the same, but there are some entries I find I really wouldn't want anyone to see so those I could get rid of the paper and know they are on the computer but the rest I don't know what to do with.

The books are now loose leaf pages as the pages had to be cut apart to be scanned. I now don't know whether to leave them as they are, have them rebound once certain entries are taken out or just go ahead and shred them all and keep future journals in a nice notebook and just type anything really personal that I think may offend someone on the laptop.

I realise now that although I love the laptop for writing most things, I love using my phone now as a diary rather than have a paper one in my handbag - with a journal I do mainly like to write my hand, typing up a journal feels too impersonal. So that way I would like to stay old style but I still worry about privacy.

Can anyone give me any advice as if I don't decide soon this will keep hanging over my head.

kittycat204

Do you not have a friend who could store them in their loft? Storage unit? If you are gone there isn't really any other way to keep people from seeing them. At least if they were at a friends you could still access them for peace of mind. I wouldn't throw them while you are having such doubts. It's not as if you could reverse your decision and they are so unique and personal.

lindseykim13

Box up and put them in the loft if you have one? We keep all old diaries and calenders in the loft.

vikki_louise

I knew someone who kept journals, had a more public one online and personal written one. She didn't want people reading it when she was gone and asked for it to be burried with her, I assume her family respected this as one of her last wishes

Nicki

Can't you keep them in a locked box with a notice on the box that it is to disposed of unopened on your demise? Or burned unread? Do you not trust your family to do this for you?

Or buy a cheap safe with a combination lock which will only give a few options to enter the code incorrectly and keep them in that and don't give anyone the code

sixtiesgal_2

Hi, thanks for your replies. They are in a locked tin at the moment. I feel if I keep them all I will have wasted my money on the scanning but I can't seem to shred them.

Also they are not the same now the pages have been ripped apart.

suki1964

Rather like reading a book on a kindle, enjoyable but no where the same as the real thing

How about getting a bank box? Keep on writing on paper, then scan onto disks/hard drives end of each year and store the hard copy at the bank

Maybe a day will come when you can let them go and store the disks in their place, with instructions for the contents to be destroyed on your death

sixtiesgal_2

Actually I do prefer reading my Kindle now to a book but its different with journals.