What to do with my ex’s gifts?

You ended a relationship and now you don’t know what to do with the memories left by your ex. Whether letters or photographs, it is always unpleasant to have to decide how to proceed with the remnants left by the dead relationship. Even more annoying is the indecision of whether or not to get rid of the gifts given by the once great love.

After all, should we keep these things or pass them on to other people? Don’t despair, some of our readers gave their testimonies for and against the habit of keeping gifts. Who knows, by reading their opinions, you can better decide what to do with them.

“Throw it all away”

There are those who cannot live with the memories left by the ex, even if they are just objects given as a gift. If this is your case, know that you are not alone.

Juliana, 27, says she doesn’t keep anything to tell the story. “I don’t like looking at the gifts my exes gave me, because I end up remembering relationships,” she says.

If relationships have been very troubled, it can even be difficult and even painful to keep these objects away. In these cases, it is best to get rid of them.

Ana Claudia, 24, doesn’t keep anything either, but prefers to donate old gifts. “The only thing I have in store is a blouse, and that’s because it was the mother of an ex who chose it. I kept it because I felt sorry to get rid of it, but the rest I donated”.

Ana also claims to have given a new function to some gifts: “I once received a gift basket; after the relationship ended, I took apart the basket and made a support for the flat iron and the hair dryer”, she explains, “I think that these things depend a lot on the type of relationship you had with the person, because some ex couldn’t keep anything, as it made me sick to look at the presents”.

“I keep everything with me”

The other extreme is that of those who prefer to keep everything, without any remorse or unpleasant feeling about it. “To be honest, I have all the gifts I got, including a heart pillow. I didn’t get rid of them because I don’t think it’s necessary,” says 24-year-old Tayara. About possible problems with her current boyfriend, she states that there is no reason to fight, “I always make it clear that it has nothing to do with it, because I got attached to the object, and not to whoever gave the object; to me, it’s just an ordinary pillow”.

The group that defends that gifts should not be passed on is quite emphatic in explaining that these objects no longer mean anything to them, being just that: objects.

Gabriele, 26, has the same opinion, “most of the time I keep it, but I don’t usually remember who gave it to me”, she says. However, for Gabriele, this detachment from the person, specifically, is fundamental. If she associates the gift with the person who gave it or with the relationship she had with that person, she thinks it’s best to get rid of it. “If the gift brings back a bad memory, I end up passing it on to someone else,” she says.

What about you, do you usually keep your ex-boyfriends’ gifts or do you prefer not to live with them when the relationship ends?