Moving 101 (for academics)

So we're moving in a couple of weeks, which is a good thing, because our new neighbors have turned the roof off of their living room into their public smoking lounge. In preparation for our three-block move, there is no end of sorting, shredding, trashing, etc. You would imagine that we have a lot of papers, notes, and books. Oh, the books. Two moves ago, AV drilled a couple of pulleys into the side of the house we were living in, and lowered the books via climbing rope from the third floor attic. We won't do that this time, but we still have to sort the books out. Now, if you know me, you know how I treat my books. They become the repository for notes, marks, and other evidences of careful, close reading. I cannot part with certain of my Seminary books. The books are always a trial, and so we try to move them ourselves - to spare everyone the weight of what it is to read for a living.

Last Friday I spent the entire day sorting out my file cabinet and came up with the following observations. For instance, you REALLY don't need those notes from 11th grade AP American History. Really. And that stuff that says "Retirement" or "Loan Consolidation" is stuff you should probably save. And when the shredder says "6 Sheets Maximum," it's not kidding. Obey, or you'll spend an hour picking paper out of the shredder with a small crochet hook. Skipping spin class was probably not such a good idea those last three weeks of school, particularly given the nature of your lungs after hauling trash and unwanted clothes from the top of your little house. These are all pearls of my experience that I'm glad to pass along to you.

But there are still some lingering questions. For instance, since I have electronic versions of stages of my Senior Honors Thesis, do I need to save the actual, handwritten stuff for something other than posterity? I'm half inclined to throw it out, but also hate to part with an entire year's (June 2000 - May 2001) blood, sweat, and (mostly) tears. I've whittled the college stuff down to mostly electronic versions and graded papers. Perhaps I should do the same with the honors thesis. Any suggestions?