Discussion Getting rid of posessions

[Lra888]

One thing that gives me anxiety about leaving is the overwhelming task of cleaning out/ organizing/ destroying possessions.

I have to destroy old journals/ computer files/ diaries so no one can read them, along with other personal things. This is such an immense task it's difficult to get the energy for this. I can't allow people to go through the private writings of a person who has suffered with severe depression / mental illness. There are times i've scrawled horrible things in fits of resentment, self hatred and loneliness and I don't want people to think that's what my true self is like. Mental illness has twisted every aspect of my life and that's the main reason I want to get out of here.

 

[Anon1337]

 

[Schopenhauer]

Fortunately I have nothing written on paper. All my potentially embarrassing/humiliating stuff is on a Truecrypt container, and my hard drive itself is bitlocker-protected. Once I'm gone, there'll be nothing for anyone to see.

 

[Jon]

One thing that gives me anxiety about leaving is the overwhelming task of cleaning out/ organizing/ destroying possessions.

I have to destroy old journals/ computer files/ diaries so no one can read them, along with other personal things. This is such an immense task it's difficult to get the energy for this. I can't allow people to go through the private writings of a person who has suffered with severe depression / mental illness. There are times i've scrawled horrible things in fits of resentment, self hatred and loneliness and I don't want people to think that's what my true self is like. Mental illness has twisted every aspect of my life and that's the main reason I want to get out of here.

Boiling hot water and acidic bathroom cleaner should turn all paper and soft metals to mush. Then despose of them gradually if needed before the time arrives.

 

[xonnia]

burn what you can but for hard drives, encrypt them or get enterprise grade drive cleaning ... or take them out and take them apart and physically destroy each platter. SSD's break the chips into as many pieces as possible

 

[sadak_the_wanderer]

This has been a serious issue for me, I would say one of the two big holdups.

Partially, I want to get rid of or pass along my "stuff" (books, music, movies) in a way that alerts or alarms nobody, but also I keep running into journals I started, typically on paper but sometimes digitally. All of the journals must be expunged. The one thing about them that comforts me when I stagger across one is that I will read something from twenty years ago and realize that, yes, I have always wanted this. It isn't recent. It isn't going to "get better." It isn't temporary.

 

[Hanging on]

Yeah be careful I did this then wasn't successful! Cost me a bloody fortune to rebuy. I still attempt, but least I've still got my stuff for when I fail.

 

[sadak_the_wanderer]

I think when it comes to digital files, encrypting instead of deleting, in the event of failure in the attempt, would be very helpful. I will probably leave enough "stuff" around to make it look like everything was sudden, but the private data will stay encrypted.

 

[Schopenhauer]

I think when it comes to digital files, encrypting instead of deleting, in the event of failure in the attempt, would be very helpful. I will probably leave enough "stuff" around to make it look like everything was sudden, but the private data will stay encrypted.

Indeed, encryption is the best option. And I'll turn off fingerprint recognition on my iPhone, and set the data destruction option for 10 failed attempts. No need for them to check my phone.

 

[dartanian]

How do you guys encrypt files on windows 10?

 

[406blue]

getting rid of all your accumulated shit is an issue. The stuff you leave behind is going to whoever you leave it to in your will. in france they have a distinction between 'mobilier and non mobilier' that's to say your 'moveable things' like furniture, junk, car, bank account etc' and the not moveable ones, such as your house.

your inheritors will take anything they might like from the physical possessions, the 'moveable' list and the rest will be taken away by some house clearance company. any money will go to inheritors according to the will, as will the house proceeds if you have one. this assumes you leave everything to someone or several people. I don't know how it works in other countries. the idea of my personal stuff being ransacked by a house clearance company after my family have taken a few things, like you say books and films, of which i have a thousand, is not nice. death isn't nice.

i considered making several trips to the dump with all my books and films, or donating them to a charity where at least they might get another life instead of some house clearance people coming in and ransacking it all. There is furniture i made myself or was given to me by friends that i feel the same way about. Attachment to possessions is part of the issue, also these things have a life to lead after i'm gone.

I posted this because the heading was about possessions, but it seems to be more about computer files and stuff people have written down. I have already burned any paper that displeases me and the computer is going to be reset to factory settings as well as the mobile.

 

[Sayo]

How do you guys encrypt files on windows 10?

Look into VeraCrypt.

 

[Sayo]

getting rid of all your accumulated shit is an issue. The stuff you leave behind is going to whoever you leave it to in your will. in france they have a distinction between 'mobilier and non mobilier' that's to say your 'moveable things' like furniture, junk, car, bank account etc' and the not moveable ones, such as your house.

your inheritors will take anything they might like from the physical possessions, the 'moveable' list and the rest will be taken away by some house clearance company. any money will go to inheritors according to the will, as will the house proceeds if you have one. this assumes you leave everything to someone or several people. I don't know how it works in other countries. the idea of my personal stuff being ransacked by a house clearance company after my family have taken a few things, like you say books and films, of which i have a thousand, is not nice. death isn't nice.

i considered making several trips to the dump with all my books and films, or donating them to a charity where at least they might get another life instead of some house clearance people coming in and ransacking it all. There is furniture i made myself or was given to me by friends that i feel the same way about. Attachment to possessions is part of the issue, also these things have a life to lead after i'm gone.

Interesting post. One learns to think of one's possessions as a reification of their existence, and either way giving up things you uniquely knew the secret of and effectively rendering them insignificant is a hard act.

If you boxed them, would your family respect your wishes expressed in your will to donate them? I know it's easier to just take care of it yourself but this tends to raise red flags.

 

[406blue]

One learns to think of one's possessions as a reification of their existence, and either way giving up things you uniquely knew the secret of and effectively rendering them insignificant is a hard act.

A beautiful way of putting it. My family live abroad and like everyone, already have their places full of their own crap. I imagine they might take a few momentos but carting it all back to a foreign country is inconceivable. These things we leave behind carry with them their own energy, impacted upon them from our intimite contact with them for decades. But once they cease to have the connection to us, do they become once again just another inanimate object? I'd rather they lived well in the care of people who respect them. For raising flags, it's the least of the problems. The idea of making boxes of stuff and marking them 'for a certain charity' is a possibility. At the end of the day, nobody is going to care for this stuff like i have, they will find it at the dump or in a market. It's pointless to think otherwise. But i like the idea of trying to donate it myself before i go to something more worthwhile than a few guys coming round and just chucking it into the back of a van. Why on earth am i still attached to this stuff, i expect because i am still attached to myself. But the idea of the continuing life of things is interesting and seems important. Do i care about the continuing life of things that don't belong to me, yes very much. I feel this walking around markets and street stalls, garage clearances. Every item has its own story, and i expect lots of people feel the same way. Some random object of mine might find its own destiny, i hope so.

 

[406blue]

If a laptop or phone is reset to factory settings, can something still be accessed?

 

[Terminally drunk]

I don't think so. Depends. You also get a month on things like gmail too recover if you change your mind. Also Its quite a emotional process to burn everything. Who really cares after anyway. Your dead. Give it 10000 years and itl be like you ans your family never existed. You just might regret destroying your stuff if you don't go through with it. dont feel pressured too ctb after breaking everything.

If a laptop or phone is reset to factory settings, can something still be accessed?

 

[eczema]

i want to burn my journals from when i was younger. i'm going to give my best friend my favorite books and after i die, i hope my family gives most of my dolls to a nice antique store, but there are two i want them to keep. i also have a stuffed gorilla that i want to be buried with.

 

[406blue]

I don't think so. Depends. You also get a month on things like gmail too recover if you change your mind. Also Its quite a emotional process to burn everything. Who really cares after anyway. Your dead. Give it 10000 years and itl be like you ans your family never existed. You just might regret destroying your stuff if you don't go through with it. dont feel pressured too ctb after breaking everything.

Quite... you're dead. The idea that we don't like to reveal our true self in death, after spending our entire life trying to conceal it..

 

[Schopenhauer]

How do you guys encrypt files on windows 10?

You can use BitLocker and encrypt your whole hard drive. Just use a long, hard to guess password, and turn off your computer before your attempt. If you fail, you can use your computer regularly (never forget the password, though, or you'll lose your access).

 

[Candour]

Just dispose of your laptop/computer/phone before death.

 

[Lovemykids]

I have like 30k pictures on my laptop with my children, I will want them to have it so will load everything on a HDD and send to my ex-wife before parting, Also I Invented a product from scratch which give 40k income yearly I will leave all the method and reproduction behind as well

 

[VincentValentine]

Just dispose of your laptop/computer/phone before death.

That's what I was planning. Isn't it good enough if we just physically destroy our stuff so that no one can see what we were doing on our computers?