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Admit it: you still have some of your ex’s things lying around your room. Every major spring cleaning uncovers a letter, a baseball hat, a picture, or a sock (yuck) that he left behind. So what do you do? Toss it in the trash with the clothes that no longer fit? Or keep it in your dresser drawer as a memory? I asked around the HelloBeautiful office and it seems that people have mixed feelings when it comes to erasing every memory of your ex:

From the girl who wants to get rid of the past and move on:

After a dramatic breakup, the last thing you want to do is meet up with your ex again to return each others’ belongings. You could always do the old “throw it in a garbage bag and leave it outside your door.” I say you try to gather as much of his stuff that you can find and leave it somewhere for him that’s far away from you. When you happen to come across his favorite t-shirt 2 months down the line, throw it away. Or maybe sell it depending on how much it’s worth.

From the memory keeper who thinks that everything happens for a reason:

There’s a reason that you stumble across his Valentine’s Day card six months later. Maybe it’s not fate and a sign that you should date again, but it could be a reminder of your past. Getting rid of every memory with an ex also gets rid of positive memories, memories that you might like to look back on. Maybe looking at that old movie ticket stub will remind you of how much you’ve grown since your relationship. Just because you’ve thrown away all of the physical parts of your relationship doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen: keeping memories doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re dwelling on the past, there’s a lot of room for reflection as well.

Let it out ladies: Are you a “throw it in the fire” kind of girl? Or are you a “use memories to reflect” kind of girl?

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