I know I am absolutely terrible about keeping papers and notebooks that I don't need anymore. The biggest thing that I carry around forever? Old class notes! My reasoning is often "what if I need this someday?" Which is ridiculous for a lot of the classes I've taken. I hold on to half-finished notebooks, pages and pages of class readings, and completed practice exams and worksheets. Going to a school with a liberal studies curriculum unrelated to your major makes this even harder.
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1. Will you have another class related to this one?
If you just finished the first of a two or more part class, keeping things from that class isn't unreasonable--especially if the exam at the end has an exam that's cumulative to all previous semesters--I'm looking at you, orgo 1 and 2. If it was an introductory level course for your major, it wouldn't be the worst idea to hold on to a few key things.
2. Would you ever re-visit these notes intentionally?
There are certainly classes where you learn things you'll want to reference later, whether it be for your major, minor, or just a general interest. Maybe you learned something in Psychology that ties to the current Biology topic you're working on. Having those sheets might be helpful!! However, if you're an English major hoping to never think about math again, you can probably toss that Calculus notebook.
3. Does it matter to you emotionally?
Was there a paper you felt really good about, and when you got it back, the professor had made some really great remarks? Was it an A you didn't really expect? What about just an exam you worked hard on and saw it pay off? These things can have importance, and would be worth keeping around for their emotional value!
4. Is it good to look at?
This is absolutely related to a class in the fine arts, but could be true for some really well formatted notes too! If you can look at something, feel proud of it, and it has aesthetic value, then you should go right ahead and toss it on your wall! There's no reason not to keep that piece you made in your art class--but you could even see about giving it to someone as a gift first--two birds, one painted stone!
5. Could someone else use this?
Did you take really good notes in a class, and have intentions of being a tutor? Keep those! Being able to go back and see how you handled the material will help you help someone else. Even better if you con't really remember the specifics--you can look at your own notes, which will be more familiar and easier to understand.
No matter what, don't throw out something that's really important to you, but try to let go of binders full of papers from a class you took just to get the credit. No one ever complains about having too much space in their dorm room, or not enough clutter in their backpack!
