My grandparents and great grandparents are dead, so they don't have to live with the embarrassment of having their descendent reduced to being "the sort of person who buys his own furniture," but that's progress. I am keeping some of it, and we all do a purge every few years just in case, but I find it's the photographs that are the hardest to destroy. Something that meant so much to someone else. Like tears in rain, I suppose.
I wonder if digitized objects will hold same sentimental value as real ones. What if taking a picture of a vase or a postcard, or even 3D scan of a toy you cherished as a kid, will help with keeping memories and not agonizing on the decision to junk it.
I stumbled across some digital photos from about 25 years ago while going through my "library". The experience felt very similar to finding some old analogue photos in a box, though unlike with physical photos you'd be unlikely to find them while looking for something that wasn't photos.
