Those are receipts and bank statements that are no longer needed. Those are letters that my Grandmother kept and passed down to my Aunt, who passed them to me. They will not be passed down to my children.
Yes, I took a few notes, but the notes are on the computer. That takes up next to no room at all.
I gave myself permission to throw away these.
These are Blue Chip Stamps. They have been lovingly moistened and pressed into books. Once upon a time they could be saved up and turned in for nifty things that you'd maybe feel guilty about spending money on, like fondue sets. Now the company is out of business. Or, at least, out of the redeemable stamp business.
These are also part of my legacy from Grandma L. There were S&H Green Stamps, too, but fewer of them. S&H is still in the participation promotion business, but they've gone digital. You sign up online and create an account. Then some stores will add points to your account. Seven thousand points will get you a five dollar gift card to either Applebee's or Starbucks. Higher point amounts have more options.
I had three books of S&H Green Stamps, so I checked it out. Here's what their website said.
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** NOTE: All Green Stamp submitted for conversion must include a notarized statement that includes a count of the number of stamps being submitted, the name of the store(s) where they were obtained, the location of those stores, your S&H Member Number (you will receive this number when you enroll with S&H greenpoints), as well as your name, address and daytime phone number—in case we have any questions.
Once your Stamps are validated based upon the information provided in your notarized letter, you can expect to receive an update to your greenpoints balance within 2 weeks from the date of our receipt of your Stamp shipment.
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You have got to be kidding me. This sounds to me like a company weasling out of a court order saying that they had to accept the stamps by making it too much of a burden to bother. And it worked. The stamps are in the trash. Way to be sleazeballs, guys. I'm sure that your mothers are proud.
Not that I, personally, lost much by throwing away these stamps. I had 3 filled books (1,200 stamps each) + a partial book with 208 stamps + 35 stamps in strips + 85 stamps in blocks = 3948 points. That's 56.4% of the way to a $5 gift card.
They do say, "Can be donated to Food For All, the United Way, or
American Forests' Global ReLeaf tree-planting program." But they don't absolve you of the third degree in order to donate, and it's just not worth it for that little.
I kind of wish that they hadn't added a little grumbling and mean-spiritedness to my weekend, because other than that, I'm feeling lighter. It's nice to have that much paper off of my back.
I still have about four file drawers to sort through. And there are probably a few more boxes in the garage. But I made a dent. I may come back later and post about the things that I tossed after scanning. Or maybe not. The point of this blog is to make me feel better about getting things out of my life that don't need to be there, not ot give me something else to feel guilty about.
