1/4     Dear sodans. What do you do with your old notes, hw, & exams from
        math 1a/1b/50a/50b/55, physics 7a/b/c, stat 1XX, EE40/42,
        chem 1a/1b/8, cs60a/b/c, cs150/152/162/164/170/172/174/184/186?
        I have about 5 big boxes of these things in the garage and I really
        need space. I'm thinking about throwing them out. However, after
        looking at all the impressive stuff I wrote that I now no longer
        understand, I cannot get myself to throw them away, and at any rate
        there is always a remote possibility that I'll have to know something
        about physics/math in the future. As a working professional who
        has not touched anything remotely academic for over a decade,
        I'll most likely never use any of those stuff again nor will I
        ever review them. However, I just can't get myself to throw them
        away. What do you guys do with your boxes of old notes, hw, & exams?
        \_ I generally made that decision right at the end of the class,
           and stuck with that decision.  For useful classes, I still have
           the notes 8 years later, and sometimes use those notes.  For
           retarded, non-useful classes, I threw them out after the final.
           I still have my notebooks from my junior high math class from 16
           years ago, and I find that I take them out and look at them about
           once a year when my friends from junior high come over and we're
           reminiscing about our math class.
        \_ I have a couple of small boxes of old stuff like that.  Whenever I
           need to clean it up, I actually go through some of it, and decide
           item-by-item what might have future nostalgia value (or reference
           value) and what won't.  (That math homework you looked at and
           thought "wow, I can't even read this anymore": keep it.  The ten
           others from the same semester that aren't quite as impressive:
           probably not necessary.)  I keep anything I'm not sure about,
           or anything I feel bad about throwing away, but I still end up
           throwing out 3/4 of whatever I go through.
           need to clean it up, I actually go through it, and decide item-by-
           item what might have future nostalgia value (or reference value)
           and what won't.  (That math homework you looked at and thought
           "wow, I can't even read this anymore": keep it.  The ten others
           from the same semester that aren't quite as impressive: probably
           not necessary.)  I keep anything I'm not sure about, or anything
           I feel bad about throwing away, but I still end up throwing out
           3/4 of whatever I go through.
        \_ I recycled my college stuff years ago. I never really saw the
           point of keeping that stuff around. --ranga
           \_ agreed.
        \_ keep the basic math stuff.
        \_ ha ha ha - I look across the room, and see a similar set of 4
           big boxes in the closet :)  I've often wondered the same thing,
           will I ever use these again?  Do I really want to lug them
           around forever?  How much would it cost to pay someone to just
           scan them all in for me ;)
        \_ Haha! I have the same problem. My quantum mechanics homework
           especially scares me. I have no idea how I managed to do that.
           I am not sure that stuff has any value. I sometimes go through
           my texts, but I doubt you'll ever have use for the homework
           again except as a memento. Even if you take a similar class
           would you really pull it out again? I wouldn't.
           \- I recently threw away maybe 200lbs of stuff.
              I think a useful way to motivate yourself is to think
              "am I going to throw this out eventually?" ... if so,
              just get rid of it now.
              \_ 200 pounds of notes you wrote in 4-5 years of college?
                 Doubtful unless you're a triple major. 50 pounds more likely
                 \- more than just college notes. journals, printed out
                    articles, blueprint of evans hall [i am not kidding],
                    articles, blue print to evans hall [i am not kidding],
                    postcards, maps of museums etc. i threw away more than
                    50lbs in Economists alone. i have another at least 200lbs
                    in books waiting in the garage to be sold.
                    \_ Blue print to Evans hall? The authorities have been
                       notified ...
                 \_ 4-5 years?  You obviously don't know psb.
        \_ I kept some of my textbooks from CS classes but threw away the
           homeworks, lab books and projects.  I made a mistake of selling the
           CS164 and 186 textbooks right after the semester ended.  If I need
           to take the GRE later, I'll have to buy those two books again.