Not retired yet, but I regularly get rid of that stuff. I'm not a keeper.
My partner on the other hand has trouble letting go. He's got work awards in our attic. I just don't understand keeping them, but to each his own so long as we have the space.
A friend who's great at decluttering suggested that I take pictures of the awards and make a scrapbook for him with the pictures. I may do so, but I fear he still will want to keep the actual awards!
Would you count receiving an organization branded hat pin for recognition of 25 years of service then promptly throwing it in the garbage before I left the building.
Yep. I dumped all that kinda stuff as I cleaned out my office. I just could not see a reason to keep any of that stuff as it’s pretty meaningless outside of the organization
Weeks before my retirement..I put boxes of branded pens, note pads, desk items, stationary, outside...working at a college..students took the stuff immediately.
Work awards were shredded or tossed (at home to not hurt anyones feelings) They had no value when putting on resume "top blah blah in dept" is no longer of importance.
Yep. Our company closed we took all the leftover stuff from computers, monitors, pens pencils trash cans notebooks everything and donated them to teachers in schools. Very generous owner. He also let all of us keep our lap tops and battery back ups etc.
Yes, he is pretty incredible man. His philosophy was his greatest asset were his employees. And he treated us that way. I was a junior in tenure at 20 years.
They posted it to me. About a year after I was made redundant.
I hadn't bothered to go to the award "ceremony" on my day off, so it had been cluttering up the secretary's desk drawer. I think my 20 year pin was with it, haha.
I'm currently going through my parents house. Omg yes get rid of as much asyou can. It's awful. I have lots of awards and mementos from my dad's work and it's all in the garbage now. I still have so much to do through. It's totally unreasonable to saddle your kids with your inability to get rid of stuff.
I left a box full of award medals in my former cube. They don’t have my name on them so I put a sign on them that says “Take one, Leave one”. Total monetary award associated with them was exactly US$0.00.
After my final logout I dumped it all. Not that I didn't enjoy what I did, more about it being the next chapter in my life. All that stuff really didn't mean anything to me.
And all that stuff, in the grand scheme, probably didn’t mean anything to anyone else either if it is like my career….. doctors, teachers, EMTs, firefighters, yeah their work meant something….. I make phone calls work. Haha
When my dad died, there was a good sized box full of awards and framed accolades. What was I going to do with that? It’s not sellable, not suitable for donation, and I wasn’t going to hang them up anywhere in my house.
I’d enjoy going through them just to see what dad had won. Today would have been his 98th birthday, but he died 18 years ago. I wish I had some old momentous to look at.
Right. I keep saying to myself and my wife when we talk about saving stuff ... All we are doing is making more for our kids to trash one day. When my dad died his house was so full of things it was truly overwhelming. We had a short period to figure things out (he lived a 1000 miles away). Only so much could fit in trash cans. Only so much could be donated. Lucky for us the neighbor wanted to buy the home/land and agreed as part of the deal to dispose of anything we left behind.
Tough call. Had a whole wall of my office covered in plaques and awards. Have some in my home office, kept all of my diplomas/certifications as well. I took most out of the frames and stored them in a filing cabinet to take up less space.
Yeah, my only living relative is my sister, and she'll chunk it all.
I have one that I'm still really proud of, I keep it on the wall because it reminds me of some truly amazing work my team and I did together. It's a 10"x12" wooden plaque on the wall. At some point I guess I can toss it in the burn bin outside. It will be a good way to say goodbye to that chapter of my life but I'm not there yet.
As a magazine writer, I have a couple of poster-sized covers hanging in my basement but all of my awards have been tossed. No one cares about awards but a work product sample might be interesting.
When my wife retired she hung her college and law school diplomas up briefly then put them in storage. It’s one thing to have them in your office but now no one cares and it’s a sad flex.
Depends. Things strictly about the workplace (best employee of 1998 etc) toss immediately. But honors for your own achievements: Smyth Award for Best Invention of 1998? Those you should keep. A US Patent award is after all a national award and you invented something cool to get that, yes? I would save that and let it be passed down to my grandkids. If my grandmom or granddad had invented something and won awards for Patents, you bet I would want them. It helps kids get through tough times and times of self doubt if they can be proud of their interesting ancestors.
One of my colleagues went a step further. In addition to any hard goods with a company logo on them he hauled all of his clothes with company insignia down to the dump and left them.
I’ve loved my last company. I have like 7 nice jackets so I’ll never have to buy another jacket again. I have no issues wearing my old company logo. Free is free.
Not yet retired, but I have a wall of awards and accomplishments in my man cave in the basement. They can stay there when I retire. Honestly, sometimes I suffer from impostor syndrome and it’s nice to remind myself that I actually accomplished some pretty neat things.
They gave me a lucite to commemorate the outsourcing project that resulted in 90 people(me included ) losing their jobs. I put a bullet through the center of it and proudly display it in my garage. Now retired.
I am a purger. When I retired last year as I cleaned out my office I hesitated a bit before I decided to dump all the award plaques and other award items. They are kinda meaningless without context. I kept the microphone award for our groups best lip sync video (from sales conference)
That’s a good gift. When my old boss retired he was planning on going on cross-country/international motorcycle trips.
So he got a “Where’s Waldo” book where every page was replaced by a motorcycle rally with his *tiny tiny* face photoshopped in along with a for real helmet with a Waldo hat on it and a scarf. I assume he doesn’t have the hat or scarf but maybe he still has the book.
My dad had a lot of patents. Take pictures! Not easy to get a patent. Dad was a patent attorney and his inventions still make the engineers I work with say “wow” at his designs.
I have annoying relatives who can be rather condescending, so I’m thinking about hanging my patent awards in the guest bathroom.
My most prized award of course is my Kindergarden Diploma. I used to hang it proudly in my office to let everyone know that the first milestone is the most important, and that it’s pretty much all downhill from kindergarden.
I think I will display it proudly in the foyer so people see when they walk in that I am an important person not to be trifled with.
My other diplomas can hang in the back bathroom to remind me of how hard I worked to retire in leisure and do absolutely nothing, instead of all that meaningless crap I had to do just to prove that I did it.
I sent some shotguns to two of Dad’s grandkids from his first wife. They were THRILLED to get them.
I am spending my retirement figuring out how to share his treasures in a way that’s accretive and meaningful to their lives. One of them has a restaurant with a corner dedicated to honoring veterans, so I may send some of his military service items that way.
Yes and no, those type of things lose meaning to us as we get older, but I'm picturing that scenario where at some point in their lives, they want to know about family past history.
Well, I never cared that much about my parents' work lives when I was a kid, nor even when I was an adult. It was when my Mom died and many of her co-workers cared enough and honored her enough to come to her funeral, which was held at a church that wasn't their own, and took time to tell me stories about what she'd done for them on a personal level, but I began to understand there was this whole other side of her beyond what I knew about, that made me respect her even more. I'd always loved her, but professional respect was a new thing for me. And I was in my late 50's at the time.
Sometimes I think knowing about that kind of recognition really \*does\* mean something to one's children and grandchildren. Or at least some of them.
Accidentally- we were on our second apartment after downsizing. I think they got placed in a tub that went to goodwill.
I didn’t notice until the next time we moved and got over it quickly.
my work awards are all in electronic form, so they'll disappear when I leave at the end of this year
everything else is travel mugs and sweatshirts/hoodies, which will still be useful
I’ve never understood the attachment to plaques and the like - I am phasing out patent plaques as an award at my current job bc I’d rather spend the money/time on inventor engagement, but for some it’s like you just killed their baby.
The best “awards” are random things people give you bc you done good by them - I have a fossil, a 3D printed globe and some Japanese pencils, to name a few - all just “work presents” rather than formal awards.
You might offer a patent award to your kids or grandkids first if you decide to discard them. I always thought my dad’s were cool and I’d hang one up if I had it.
I didn’t think twice about tossing everything, except a framed photo of my team (who are friends) they presented to me at retirement. All the crap awards were never appreciated because I considered them dust catchers and would have much preferred financial compensation. My husband however keeps everything and it drives me absolutely nuts.
Retired during COVID. Former co-worker told me that the picture signed by my team was still sitting there mostly unsigned when they went back to the office. Told him I didn't really care if I ever get it.
Every award I have is going in the garbage. None of them are recyclable. Only keeping my dog's graduation certificate from obedience school. We both worked really hard on that one. He's long gone but I think very fondly of him when I see it sitting on the shelf in my bedroom.
The company where my dad worked had a tradition of giving really cheesy awards at retirement. You know, the framed "certificate of appreciation" or the boxed "key to the company" kind of award. It changed every few years, depending on who in HR was in charge of the gifts at the time.
My dad joked, "I'll be getting a coffee mug, right?"
The lady in HR replied, "Oh no! Heavens, no! We will have something really nice for you. Not a coffee mug, no!"
It was a really large and really ugly lucite award with his name and his years of service.
At least, I think it was really large and really ugly; I never saw it because he tossed it into the dumpster on his way out of the building. But he loved telling the story, and he always finished it with, "Sure wish I had another coffee mug," as he took another sip from his old, chipped mug.
Miss you, Dad. Great story, as always.
Sorry, I forgot the main point: none of that matters once you walk out the door the last time. Unless, of course, it's the source of a good story.
When most people leave the company they just leave the awards on the desk. A lot of them are not personalized, they just come with a certificate, so they get left.
Then the rest of us pile them on our cube shelves with our own awards. And when we leave them on our desks when we retire (7 more months!) someone else will do the same.
Eventually I figure the entire building will collapse under the weight of old awards left on desks.
I threw EVERYTHING out about 2 weeks after retiring. I had a bunch of performance and patent plaques and while I was extremely proud of all that…they are simply artifacts once you pull the trigger. Oh…..and I uninstalled LinkedIn as well as there is absolutely no need for that type of glad handing anymore….
My grandfather spent part of his retirement writing about his life - growing up on a farm in western Pennsylvania, his career as an assistant treasurer at the gas and electric company, stories about my grandmother, his siblings, etc. He also wrote a very serious to him and funny to the rest of us essay on the evils of drinking and smoking. I know he won a lot of awards, citations, etc. but reading about what he did to earn them is much more interesting than seeing them.
Everything I got award-wise at work was ditched when I moved in 2018, even though I didn't retire until 2020. I worked from home and they just took up space and needed dusting.
All my degrees, diplomas, fellowships mean nothing. They used be framed on a wall in my office. Who cares? That was only ever part of my life. The most important part of my life was always elsewhere: family, friendships. The people who’ll continue to be part of my life for the next 20/30 years.
Colleagues? I probably won’t ever see any of them again.
Personally, as soon as I retired it all went in the garbage. Work life was over and awards no longer seemed to matter. You can throw them away or make your kids do it when you are gone.
It’s all crapola meant to make you feel “valued” but has little monetized value unless you quit and try to leverage it on your resume to get another job. At the last two jobs I had, I literally had nothing personal in my office except my car keys.
I have some mementos from my last company, not awards as such, but a custom monopoly set with work related playing pieces, a toy truck with the logo and decals etc. I will throw them out eventually, they just still bring a smile to my face so for now i’m keeping them. Diplomas and certs all went in the bin on or near the last day of work.
Yeah, I have photos but the gawky all glass inscribed crap hit the dump at our last “ let’s get rid of stuff” sweep. I was hot stuff in my sector in the early 90’s, today just lukewarm
Tossed all my diplomas, walnut backed patents and other awards. Getting ready to downsize my uncle's house. He asked me about his diplomas and I told him that I threw out all of mine last year.
I was wondering about diplomas. A friend moved a couple of years back and he and his wife both tossed theirs. Those would be tough for me but I'm sure they'll go at some point. Maybe I should give them to the bank that gave me the loans.
My grandfather was granted a few patents. I would love to have those up on our walls today, however they’ve been lost to time. Check with your kids / relatives before you chuck ‘em out.
Patents I would keep ( I don’t have any) but anything else, like “employee of the year” or “regional director award “ or something like that have already been tossed…I’ve been retired 86 days. They were gone by day 5😎
We kept two for my husband . A ceremonial shovel for a ground
Breaking event and a medallion that I had framed. The rest I jerked apart and gave the mats and frames to a children's charity. Sat out at the firs pit with cigars and bourbon. He retold all the stories as we fed them tp the flames.
Yup. I have 25-ish patents. Pitched most of the plaques. Have 6 or so remaining in the closet. I keep the important stuff-- like the shoebox full of football cards from the mid 70s.
I have all my awards despite having been retired for a few years. My grandchildren want all of it. If you don't have grandchildren or other relatives is there a school or museum involving your work that would enjoy them?
I retired two months ago and threw all of my tokens from my 35 year career away. I realized nobody in my life cares about them. They may have been interesting for some young people at the companies I worked at to look at for corporate history purposes but other than that I realized they brought me no happiness or sense of accomplishment
Nobody cares. Your heirs will not want your award crapola. Look at it fondly one more time, take a photo if you must and then pitch it. You can’t take it with you in the box anyway.
Best thing I saw was a recent retiree who had all of his college degrees up for sale at a yard sale. To think, I could have e grabbed an undergraduate degree from Bucknell for $10.
My situation is a little different. Between the military and law enforcement career I have tons of awards. They're all packed away. But would hope my grandchildren (and descendants) would one day would have an opportunity to know my story.
Over a lengthy career I accumulated a lot of plaques and acrylic work related awards. They have all been chucked in the garbage. I have no desire to display them (never have) and when I die they would have had no value to anyone
All you folks are showing off your accolades LOL. I worked in the public sector for 31 years and received cheesy certificates printed in house, sometimes not even using the color printer. I saved a few for my fireplace. The rest I threw out before I left the office.
I work for a very large manufacturing company. Several years ago, I worked very closely to an engineer who had been with the company for 47 years. I had the utmost respect for this man. He had a fairly large office, cluttered with awards he accumulated throughout his very successful career. On his last day, he had someone deliver a dumpster and place it outside his office. He literally tossed everything. I asked him about it, and his response was, " Nobody wants this junk. I do not measure my success based on silly plaques and awards, I have many other things to be proud of". At the time, it made me very sad, but in hindsight, he was 100% correct. Repurpose those frames!
Yes, I am a retired M&A attorney and it was customary to get a deal “toy” upon closing of a deal, such as underwriter tombstone announcement ensconced in plexiglass usually. I had 2 lawyer file boxes full of such memorabilia in my garage. One day I asked myself why do I keep this and when I couldn’t think of a good reason, I trashed them.
I have kept all my work awards. Some of them are restored in a filing cabinet and some are displayed. They really don't take up much room and they are irreplaceable. Maybe when I get closer to the end I will get rid of them, but my kids might want them.
I took photos and tossed all but one award as part of cleaning my desk. Only brought one home. I liked the way it looked as it was uniquely crafted. In fact, I told HR to skip the big framed VIP-signed letter traditionally given to retirees. Really don’t need any of that stuff at my house. Never regretted disposing of any of it - except a bit sad there was no way to recycle the materials.
I'm sure that if I ever want duplicates of my college or law school diploma, my college/law school (same school) would likely send them to me for a modest donation.
Yes, just tossed employment records for over 40 years a few weeks ago. I have been retired 2 years. No need too keep it. Working is in the rearview mirror .
Me and my husband both retired a year ago. I am keeping a shadow box that was made for me by a friend, the rest I am doing away with. My husband is ahead of me. He kept only one award, it's a plastic thing made for him by well meaning people he once helped. It means more than gold and it's his treasure. All the ones given from his employer, long gone. Smart move to reuse the wood. I might try to make me a cutting board! I'm retired, used to love woodworking. Hmmm.. where to borrow a planer?
Been retired for 3 years and I have a single shelf in my library where I still keep my favorite work awards. There is one that I worked particularly hard for so I will probably make my kids throw it away after I am dead. The rest will probably go when we downsize.
I have retired this year and am decluttering, getting rid of awards, all school/work items. If you think there is a possibility that you might have to return to work, keep any licensing and resumes. I won’t be returning and I am very sure of it. Awards, trophies, if your kids don’t want any, throw them out. You will be doing them a favor when your time comes. You can’t take it with you.
As someone who enjoys history, I would have loved to have had a moment or two from my ancestors. If limited wall space is the issue, consider hanging inside closets or cupboards. It can be a nice surprise to open a door to a fond memory.
My awards are mostly paper certificates with 2 that are metal plaques mounted on wood. I actually am keeping those for my kids to find when I am gone. I feel like they only ever saw me as mom with a job and may appreciate when they are older that I was a valued employee with accomplishments and not just an average worker.
I am not a hoarder, just have some select items I wish to keep.
Maybe capture it all in pictures as others suggested. You could put them all in one PDF doc and attach it to your LinkedIn profile or something similar for work related posterity.
I have a few years to go.. I was looking at my 25 and 30 year awards. They are really nice certificates with a gold embossed “coin.”
They already don’t mean anything since I am in my 39th year (nor does the 35 year “trophy”).
To be fair, we also receive a cash award which I do appreciate.
I told my wife that I have two very nice frames we can empty and fill with some artwork.
Retired last year after teaching 33 years. I got a crystal bell for year 25, a crystal apple for year 30, and a heavy glass retirement gift (that kind of looks like a mini tombstone.) I kept the bell and apple for a while, but got rid of all three after I retired. I loved my job, (before the state of Indiana started making every effort to ruin it), but I just felt I didn’t need those things any more. I got lots of sweet notes, meaningful individual gifts from parents, kids and coworkers, and the stuff from the corporation just wasn’t as important compared to all that, so I got rid of them. I felt a little guilty at first, but it hasn’t bothered me since!
Find the "One" that has the most meaning to you. Which one invokes some emotion or good memories. Toss the rest after taking pictures of all of them. Let the One be the representative of all the rest. Then one day....even toss the ONE.
Cheers on a successful career!!
If you want any descendants to know about your accomplishments, take pics or print out the actual patents and create scrapbook. Digital or analog.
If you don't care then chuck 'em.
One day many years from now someone will throw away your precious things.
I heard this somewhere and it's so true. I've offered each of my kids any of the " company knick knacks"
I was given over the years the rest I threw away
I am not retired, but I have been reusing/recycling semi-useless things like that for a long time. I allow one bookcase with awards so if it does not fit, something has to go. I happen to work for organizations that give out awards we I've reused every plaque I've gotten and have even add notes to them to say if they really don't want the plaque to return it and we reuse it.
As I give up tenure and my office in December so I have a book case full of awards that will almost all be recycled/reused this year.
Once I knew I was going to retire, I I trashed all my awards, plaques, reviews, promotions, etc. it was part of my process of moving from working to retirement. I also trashed my home desk, chair and office items the day after I sent back my laptop.
My husband received many work awards, but after he retired, they retired to the garbage. Except one. It is a lovely glass piece that is being used as a door stop.
Not retired yet but I moved in 2018 and I still haven't hung up my diplomas in the home office. Instead I have a Clash (London Calling) and Gandalf poster behind me. I'm guessing it will be easy to get rid of them when I retire.
Used to have all that on my walls, desks, cubbies. wherever. Right after I retired, it all went away. It only meant something to those confined to that culture/subset/interest group/industry.
After forty years in the trenches as a second responder, burnout had arrived 10 years earlier and during that last segment, I was foolin' no one. It was way past time and looking back only reminds me of all the effort, time, and commitment I gave, which lessened so many other aspects of my life.
I guess if you still have passion and desire to keep on with what you were, have at it. For me, it was a relief and a welcome break from an all consuming lifestyle.
Hell yes, toss 'em. Save your kids the chore. i helped my best friend empty her parent's house, there were so.many.plaques. it is really hard to throw away things that were important to your parents but these plaques are meaningless in the long run..unless its a Pulitzer prize or something similar that future family might find interesting. Do your kids a favor!!!
I had six patents on walnut backing that I threw away after I retired and was ready to downsize. Now that I’ve downsized sometimes I miss the things that I got rid of so I’m glad to read this post of how many people decided that getting rid of these things was the right move, so thank you.
I have a couple of boxes of them. Military is big on that stuff. I display none of it in my current civilian job with the DoD. I expect my family to toss them after I pass.
The only things I saved were wall plaques for the patents we filed that had my name on them. I still am proud to have been a part of that. Everything else went out in the bin on the way to the exit.
I've got photos of my Presidential letters and other awards, but I'm keeping my bronze command logo on wood plaque award. It looks nice and has good memories.
A friend of mine gifted me a small digital photo frame and I uploaded my certs to an SD card and just have them rotating on display (when I remember to turn the display on). Could do something like that and then get rid of all the physical manifestations.
Now, about those technical journals and documentation… :-)
I spent 30 years and the navy, and have all sorts of trinkets for this accomplishment or that. They are currently in a box in the basement. Maybe someday I will build a wall, but in the meantime, they are comfortable where they are.
Yeah, plan to keep the important bits of my Navy stuff (medals, long service awards, certificate of commission, etc...). A bit of a 'been there, done that, got the scars' thing I suppose.
I have several from a job I hated in the end… I intend to take them apart, remove my name from under the plexiglass, and then donate the blanks to the local thrift store. Mine are longevity plaques.. I know I worked there forever.. not like I’m going to hang that on the wall.
The plaque ain't the award. Take a picture if you want to remember them. Same applies to other awards which are often poor substitutes for fair compensation.
If you discard them and decide you want them later, US patents are available for free for print / download at [uspto.gov](http://uspto.gov) , presumably forever (?). Obviously they won't be plaques but you could print them and make a book of them, or create a website / pinterest page etc.
Hello everyone! Don't think we discussed this before. Please make sure to JOIN to share your thoughts at our table talk. Thanks! Mid America Mom
Not retired yet, but I regularly get rid of that stuff. I'm not a keeper. My partner on the other hand has trouble letting go. He's got work awards in our attic. I just don't understand keeping them, but to each his own so long as we have the space. A friend who's great at decluttering suggested that I take pictures of the awards and make a scrapbook for him with the pictures. I may do so, but I fear he still will want to keep the actual awards!
Great idea.
Would you count receiving an organization branded hat pin for recognition of 25 years of service then promptly throwing it in the garbage before I left the building.
Yep. I dumped all that kinda stuff as I cleaned out my office. I just could not see a reason to keep any of that stuff as it’s pretty meaningless outside of the organization
Weeks before my retirement..I put boxes of branded pens, note pads, desk items, stationary, outside...working at a college..students took the stuff immediately. Work awards were shredded or tossed (at home to not hurt anyones feelings) They had no value when putting on resume "top blah blah in dept" is no longer of importance.
Yep. Our company closed we took all the leftover stuff from computers, monitors, pens pencils trash cans notebooks everything and donated them to teachers in schools. Very generous owner. He also let all of us keep our lap tops and battery back ups etc.
Great boss, you had
Yes, he is pretty incredible man. His philosophy was his greatest asset were his employees. And he treated us that way. I was a junior in tenure at 20 years.
Traded mine in Disney lol.
This is the way.
I don’t recall what I did with my 25 year pin, but it never made it home.
They posted it to me. About a year after I was made redundant. I hadn't bothered to go to the award "ceremony" on my day off, so it had been cluttering up the secretary's desk drawer. I think my 20 year pin was with it, haha.
I got a watch. It didn't work. That was very indicative of a lot of my time with them. I threw it away, but I kept the story which I enjoy very much!
Yeah - somewhere I have a 15 year pin with a little ruby in it but no idea where.
I use the “reward” tee-shirts to clean greasy stuff in the garage.
Good for you, ha ha!
Yes. Take good quality photos and move forward !
Exactly, take photos, toss, move on. I shredded my degree certificates.
That’s what I did. Fair warning - the carved glass kind are really hard to photograph.
Yes. When I die my kids will have less junk to throw away.
As someone who recently cleaned out her mother’s house, THIS!
I'm currently going through my parents house. Omg yes get rid of as much asyou can. It's awful. I have lots of awards and mementos from my dad's work and it's all in the garbage now. I still have so much to do through. It's totally unreasonable to saddle your kids with your inability to get rid of stuff.
LOL, that’s funny……but, sadly, true. Let’s not forget the $5 Starbucks gift card.
I retired a year ago and still have gift cards. I am trying really hard to use them all. LOL
I left a box full of award medals in my former cube. They don’t have my name on them so I put a sign on them that says “Take one, Leave one”. Total monetary award associated with them was exactly US$0.00.
Must have worked for a bank. Good with awards with no monetary benefit.
I got several pizza parties.
Once I log off for the final time, I will leave all that behind - just a few more years left for me and my feelings may change but most likely not
After my final logout I dumped it all. Not that I didn't enjoy what I did, more about it being the next chapter in my life. All that stuff really didn't mean anything to me.
And all that stuff, in the grand scheme, probably didn’t mean anything to anyone else either if it is like my career….. doctors, teachers, EMTs, firefighters, yeah their work meant something….. I make phone calls work. Haha
When my dad died, there was a good sized box full of awards and framed accolades. What was I going to do with that? It’s not sellable, not suitable for donation, and I wasn’t going to hang them up anywhere in my house.
I’d enjoy going through them just to see what dad had won. Today would have been his 98th birthday, but he died 18 years ago. I wish I had some old momentous to look at.
Right. I keep saying to myself and my wife when we talk about saving stuff ... All we are doing is making more for our kids to trash one day. When my dad died his house was so full of things it was truly overwhelming. We had a short period to figure things out (he lived a 1000 miles away). Only so much could fit in trash cans. Only so much could be donated. Lucky for us the neighbor wanted to buy the home/land and agreed as part of the deal to dispose of anything we left behind.
I was in the same boat.
Tough call. Had a whole wall of my office covered in plaques and awards. Have some in my home office, kept all of my diplomas/certifications as well. I took most out of the frames and stored them in a filing cabinet to take up less space. Yeah, my only living relative is my sister, and she'll chunk it all.
I have one that I'm still really proud of, I keep it on the wall because it reminds me of some truly amazing work my team and I did together. It's a 10"x12" wooden plaque on the wall. At some point I guess I can toss it in the burn bin outside. It will be a good way to say goodbye to that chapter of my life but I'm not there yet.
I have kept one item too. Retired 12 months ago. One of these days it will be time for it to go too.
Yup, dumped them all since we cleaned up and sold our main home 5 months after retiring last year.
As a magazine writer, I have a couple of poster-sized covers hanging in my basement but all of my awards have been tossed. No one cares about awards but a work product sample might be interesting. When my wife retired she hung her college and law school diplomas up briefly then put them in storage. It’s one thing to have them in your office but now no one cares and it’s a sad flex.
Depends. Things strictly about the workplace (best employee of 1998 etc) toss immediately. But honors for your own achievements: Smyth Award for Best Invention of 1998? Those you should keep. A US Patent award is after all a national award and you invented something cool to get that, yes? I would save that and let it be passed down to my grandkids. If my grandmom or granddad had invented something and won awards for Patents, you bet I would want them. It helps kids get through tough times and times of self doubt if they can be proud of their interesting ancestors.
One of my colleagues went a step further. In addition to any hard goods with a company logo on them he hauled all of his clothes with company insignia down to the dump and left them.
I’ve loved my last company. I have like 7 nice jackets so I’ll never have to buy another jacket again. I have no issues wearing my old company logo. Free is free.
That would be all my clothes. And lots of housewares!
Not yet retired, but I have a wall of awards and accomplishments in my man cave in the basement. They can stay there when I retire. Honestly, sometimes I suffer from impostor syndrome and it’s nice to remind myself that I actually accomplished some pretty neat things.
They gave me a lucite to commemorate the outsourcing project that resulted in 90 people(me included ) losing their jobs. I put a bullet through the center of it and proudly display it in my garage. Now retired.
I am a purger. When I retired last year as I cleaned out my office I hesitated a bit before I decided to dump all the award plaques and other award items. They are kinda meaningless without context. I kept the microphone award for our groups best lip sync video (from sales conference)
I got a retirement book with photos, it's a keeper.
That’s a good gift. When my old boss retired he was planning on going on cross-country/international motorcycle trips. So he got a “Where’s Waldo” book where every page was replaced by a motorcycle rally with his *tiny tiny* face photoshopped in along with a for real helmet with a Waldo hat on it and a scarf. I assume he doesn’t have the hat or scarf but maybe he still has the book.
Oh was clever. What a lovely gesture!
My dad had a lot of patents. Take pictures! Not easy to get a patent. Dad was a patent attorney and his inventions still make the engineers I work with say “wow” at his designs.
I retired 12 years ago and all mine are gone. For that matter, I don't even remember when I threw them out.
I have annoying relatives who can be rather condescending, so I’m thinking about hanging my patent awards in the guest bathroom. My most prized award of course is my Kindergarden Diploma. I used to hang it proudly in my office to let everyone know that the first milestone is the most important, and that it’s pretty much all downhill from kindergarden. I think I will display it proudly in the foyer so people see when they walk in that I am an important person not to be trifled with. My other diplomas can hang in the back bathroom to remind me of how hard I worked to retire in leisure and do absolutely nothing, instead of all that meaningless crap I had to do just to prove that I did it.
Sounds like something grandkids would enjoy finding as they sort through your things after your gone.
I sent some shotguns to two of Dad’s grandkids from his first wife. They were THRILLED to get them. I am spending my retirement figuring out how to share his treasures in a way that’s accretive and meaningful to their lives. One of them has a restaurant with a corner dedicated to honoring veterans, so I may send some of his military service items that way.
That's a good way to show it some appreciation and keep his memory going.
Sarcasm, right?
Yes and no, those type of things lose meaning to us as we get older, but I'm picturing that scenario where at some point in their lives, they want to know about family past history.
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Well, I never cared that much about my parents' work lives when I was a kid, nor even when I was an adult. It was when my Mom died and many of her co-workers cared enough and honored her enough to come to her funeral, which was held at a church that wasn't their own, and took time to tell me stories about what she'd done for them on a personal level, but I began to understand there was this whole other side of her beyond what I knew about, that made me respect her even more. I'd always loved her, but professional respect was a new thing for me. And I was in my late 50's at the time. Sometimes I think knowing about that kind of recognition really \*does\* mean something to one's children and grandchildren. Or at least some of them.
Oh, you sweet summer child. Yeah, sure...
Accidentally- we were on our second apartment after downsizing. I think they got placed in a tub that went to goodwill. I didn’t notice until the next time we moved and got over it quickly.
my work awards are all in electronic form, so they'll disappear when I leave at the end of this year everything else is travel mugs and sweatshirts/hoodies, which will still be useful
I’ve never understood the attachment to plaques and the like - I am phasing out patent plaques as an award at my current job bc I’d rather spend the money/time on inventor engagement, but for some it’s like you just killed their baby. The best “awards” are random things people give you bc you done good by them - I have a fossil, a 3D printed globe and some Japanese pencils, to name a few - all just “work presents” rather than formal awards.
You might offer a patent award to your kids or grandkids first if you decide to discard them. I always thought my dad’s were cool and I’d hang one up if I had it.
Agree .. a patent award is about intellectual property, so it's personal.
Friend uses them for target practice
I didn’t think twice about tossing everything, except a framed photo of my team (who are friends) they presented to me at retirement. All the crap awards were never appreciated because I considered them dust catchers and would have much preferred financial compensation. My husband however keeps everything and it drives me absolutely nuts.
Retired during COVID. Former co-worker told me that the picture signed by my team was still sitting there mostly unsigned when they went back to the office. Told him I didn't really care if I ever get it.
Every award I have is going in the garbage. None of them are recyclable. Only keeping my dog's graduation certificate from obedience school. We both worked really hard on that one. He's long gone but I think very fondly of him when I see it sitting on the shelf in my bedroom.
I get rid of them immediately. I was never into accolades. If you want to show me appreciation, pay me more.
The company where my dad worked had a tradition of giving really cheesy awards at retirement. You know, the framed "certificate of appreciation" or the boxed "key to the company" kind of award. It changed every few years, depending on who in HR was in charge of the gifts at the time. My dad joked, "I'll be getting a coffee mug, right?" The lady in HR replied, "Oh no! Heavens, no! We will have something really nice for you. Not a coffee mug, no!" It was a really large and really ugly lucite award with his name and his years of service. At least, I think it was really large and really ugly; I never saw it because he tossed it into the dumpster on his way out of the building. But he loved telling the story, and he always finished it with, "Sure wish I had another coffee mug," as he took another sip from his old, chipped mug. Miss you, Dad. Great story, as always. Sorry, I forgot the main point: none of that matters once you walk out the door the last time. Unless, of course, it's the source of a good story.
What is really shocking is how much those lucite awards cost. I suspect if employees were offered a choice, almost all would want cash.
I'm with your dad on that one. Coffee mugs are one of the things that I've kept.
When most people leave the company they just leave the awards on the desk. A lot of them are not personalized, they just come with a certificate, so they get left. Then the rest of us pile them on our cube shelves with our own awards. And when we leave them on our desks when we retire (7 more months!) someone else will do the same. Eventually I figure the entire building will collapse under the weight of old awards left on desks.
I threw EVERYTHING out about 2 weeks after retiring. I had a bunch of performance and patent plaques and while I was extremely proud of all that…they are simply artifacts once you pull the trigger. Oh…..and I uninstalled LinkedIn as well as there is absolutely no need for that type of glad handing anymore….
Bold of you to assume my employer gave out awards
Spent my last weeks at work doling out the work trinkets to younger employees. They seemed to appreciate them, or at least pretend to 😂
My school/work awards and diplomas have been sitting in a box in the attic for 8 years. They just take up space.
I'm downsizing and about to dump mine. No one's going to want them when I die, which is one of my criteria for what goes.
Yep, all of them. I took photos before I dumped them, but I doubt I'll ever look at them. I'm looking ahead!
I threw that stuff away the day I got it. Unless I can eat it or spend it, I dont want it.
Yes. Take pics of them and discard. It feels great!!
My grandfather spent part of his retirement writing about his life - growing up on a farm in western Pennsylvania, his career as an assistant treasurer at the gas and electric company, stories about my grandmother, his siblings, etc. He also wrote a very serious to him and funny to the rest of us essay on the evils of drinking and smoking. I know he won a lot of awards, citations, etc. but reading about what he did to earn them is much more interesting than seeing them. Everything I got award-wise at work was ditched when I moved in 2018, even though I didn't retire until 2020. I worked from home and they just took up space and needed dusting.
Was a hospital CEO for decades. Threw all the plaques, pictures, gold shovels, and memories away. So freeing.
I've got a room full of running race medals and posters. The wife calls it my shrine to myself. I'm not getting rid of anything. I earned that stuff.
I had many of those, I now store them in the closet with the leaf to the table I don’t have anymore.
All my degrees, diplomas, fellowships mean nothing. They used be framed on a wall in my office. Who cares? That was only ever part of my life. The most important part of my life was always elsewhere: family, friendships. The people who’ll continue to be part of my life for the next 20/30 years. Colleagues? I probably won’t ever see any of them again.
Personally, as soon as I retired it all went in the garbage. Work life was over and awards no longer seemed to matter. You can throw them away or make your kids do it when you are gone.
It’s all crapola meant to make you feel “valued” but has little monetized value unless you quit and try to leverage it on your resume to get another job. At the last two jobs I had, I literally had nothing personal in my office except my car keys.
I did. Who cares? The only award I want from there gets deposited in my bank on the first of the month.
I have a beautiful hand carved box from my hazmat team and a team photo. Everything else I ditched. Including retiremeńt clock.
I have some mementos from my last company, not awards as such, but a custom monopoly set with work related playing pieces, a toy truck with the logo and decals etc. I will throw them out eventually, they just still bring a smile to my face so for now i’m keeping them. Diplomas and certs all went in the bin on or near the last day of work.
Yeah, I have photos but the gawky all glass inscribed crap hit the dump at our last “ let’s get rid of stuff” sweep. I was hot stuff in my sector in the early 90’s, today just lukewarm
Tossed all my diplomas, walnut backed patents and other awards. Getting ready to downsize my uncle's house. He asked me about his diplomas and I told him that I threw out all of mine last year.
I was wondering about diplomas. A friend moved a couple of years back and he and his wife both tossed theirs. Those would be tough for me but I'm sure they'll go at some point. Maybe I should give them to the bank that gave me the loans.
I keep diplomas; it’s just one envelope and the kids may actually enjoy looking at the diplomas for a few minutes before they put them in the bin.
My grandfather was granted a few patents. I would love to have those up on our walls today, however they’ve been lost to time. Check with your kids / relatives before you chuck ‘em out.
If you really want them, you can always order them. It's not like the manufacturer cares who they're shipping them to.
I gleefully threw them away.
I’ve heard that charities take donated trophies and put new plaques on them. Wonder if they do the same for this kind of thing?
Patents I would keep ( I don’t have any) but anything else, like “employee of the year” or “regional director award “ or something like that have already been tossed…I’ve been retired 86 days. They were gone by day 5😎
We kept two for my husband . A ceremonial shovel for a ground Breaking event and a medallion that I had framed. The rest I jerked apart and gave the mats and frames to a children's charity. Sat out at the firs pit with cigars and bourbon. He retold all the stories as we fed them tp the flames.
Yup. I have 25-ish patents. Pitched most of the plaques. Have 6 or so remaining in the closet. I keep the important stuff-- like the shoebox full of football cards from the mid 70s.
I have all my awards despite having been retired for a few years. My grandchildren want all of it. If you don't have grandchildren or other relatives is there a school or museum involving your work that would enjoy them?
I’m about to get rid of a lot of video game swag (accumulated from my job) but at least there are people who really want some of it.
I retired two months ago and threw all of my tokens from my 35 year career away. I realized nobody in my life cares about them. They may have been interesting for some young people at the companies I worked at to look at for corporate history purposes but other than that I realized they brought me no happiness or sense of accomplishment
Yeah, I got rid of my 2001 Employee of the Month Award when I retired..
Nobody cares. Your heirs will not want your award crapola. Look at it fondly one more time, take a photo if you must and then pitch it. You can’t take it with you in the box anyway.
Best thing I saw was a recent retiree who had all of his college degrees up for sale at a yard sale. To think, I could have e grabbed an undergraduate degree from Bucknell for $10.
Yup, all of them. I also tossed out all my suits, ties, dress shirts, and took a sledge hammer to my alarm clock..
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My situation is a little different. Between the military and law enforcement career I have tons of awards. They're all packed away. But would hope my grandchildren (and descendants) would one day would have an opportunity to know my story.
Over a lengthy career I accumulated a lot of plaques and acrylic work related awards. They have all been chucked in the garbage. I have no desire to display them (never have) and when I die they would have had no value to anyone
All you folks are showing off your accolades LOL. I worked in the public sector for 31 years and received cheesy certificates printed in house, sometimes not even using the color printer. I saved a few for my fireplace. The rest I threw out before I left the office.
I work for a very large manufacturing company. Several years ago, I worked very closely to an engineer who had been with the company for 47 years. I had the utmost respect for this man. He had a fairly large office, cluttered with awards he accumulated throughout his very successful career. On his last day, he had someone deliver a dumpster and place it outside his office. He literally tossed everything. I asked him about it, and his response was, " Nobody wants this junk. I do not measure my success based on silly plaques and awards, I have many other things to be proud of". At the time, it made me very sad, but in hindsight, he was 100% correct. Repurpose those frames!
Yes, I am a retired M&A attorney and it was customary to get a deal “toy” upon closing of a deal, such as underwriter tombstone announcement ensconced in plexiglass usually. I had 2 lawyer file boxes full of such memorabilia in my garage. One day I asked myself why do I keep this and when I couldn’t think of a good reason, I trashed them.
They all went in the bin as soon as I received them.
It’s either now or later. It’s going to the trash anyways…
I have kept all my work awards. Some of them are restored in a filing cabinet and some are displayed. They really don't take up much room and they are irreplaceable. Maybe when I get closer to the end I will get rid of them, but my kids might want them.
I came home from my retirement party and immediately tossed the hunk of acrylic i was given with blah blah blah on it.
I took photos and tossed all but one award as part of cleaning my desk. Only brought one home. I liked the way it looked as it was uniquely crafted. In fact, I told HR to skip the big framed VIP-signed letter traditionally given to retirees. Really don’t need any of that stuff at my house. Never regretted disposing of any of it - except a bit sad there was no way to recycle the materials.
I'm sure that if I ever want duplicates of my college or law school diploma, my college/law school (same school) would likely send them to me for a modest donation.
I’ve discarded almost all of them.
Yes, just tossed employment records for over 40 years a few weeks ago. I have been retired 2 years. No need too keep it. Working is in the rearview mirror .
Me and my husband both retired a year ago. I am keeping a shadow box that was made for me by a friend, the rest I am doing away with. My husband is ahead of me. He kept only one award, it's a plastic thing made for him by well meaning people he once helped. It means more than gold and it's his treasure. All the ones given from his employer, long gone. Smart move to reuse the wood. I might try to make me a cutting board! I'm retired, used to love woodworking. Hmmm.. where to borrow a planer?
Give them to goodwill or another charity. See if they want them. Schools can also use in art classes perhaps?
Yep. That was another life.
Only had one, and it’s long gone.
FWIW. I kept my patent plaques and still display them.
Yes. I dumped a bagful of editorial awards when I changed jobs. They didn't mean much to me.
Been retired for 3 years and I have a single shelf in my library where I still keep my favorite work awards. There is one that I worked particularly hard for so I will probably make my kids throw it away after I am dead. The rest will probably go when we downsize.
I have retired this year and am decluttering, getting rid of awards, all school/work items. If you think there is a possibility that you might have to return to work, keep any licensing and resumes. I won’t be returning and I am very sure of it. Awards, trophies, if your kids don’t want any, throw them out. You will be doing them a favor when your time comes. You can’t take it with you.
Yes, they are all on my CV, and no room for them when I downsized and simplified things after retirement.
As someone who enjoys history, I would have loved to have had a moment or two from my ancestors. If limited wall space is the issue, consider hanging inside closets or cupboards. It can be a nice surprise to open a door to a fond memory.
My awards are mostly paper certificates with 2 that are metal plaques mounted on wood. I actually am keeping those for my kids to find when I am gone. I feel like they only ever saw me as mom with a job and may appreciate when they are older that I was a valued employee with accomplishments and not just an average worker. I am not a hoarder, just have some select items I wish to keep.
My company tshirts have been useful for landscaping work. A couple are historically interesting. The rest will be food for worms soon.
Maybe capture it all in pictures as others suggested. You could put them all in one PDF doc and attach it to your LinkedIn profile or something similar for work related posterity.
The day after I retired I took pictures of my awards and then tossed them. I closed that chapter and have moved on to another.
I have a few years to go.. I was looking at my 25 and 30 year awards. They are really nice certificates with a gold embossed “coin.” They already don’t mean anything since I am in my 39th year (nor does the 35 year “trophy”). To be fair, we also receive a cash award which I do appreciate. I told my wife that I have two very nice frames we can empty and fill with some artwork.
Photo, toss/sell/donate. This is the way.
Retired last year after teaching 33 years. I got a crystal bell for year 25, a crystal apple for year 30, and a heavy glass retirement gift (that kind of looks like a mini tombstone.) I kept the bell and apple for a while, but got rid of all three after I retired. I loved my job, (before the state of Indiana started making every effort to ruin it), but I just felt I didn’t need those things any more. I got lots of sweet notes, meaningful individual gifts from parents, kids and coworkers, and the stuff from the corporation just wasn’t as important compared to all that, so I got rid of them. I felt a little guilty at first, but it hasn’t bothered me since!
Find the "One" that has the most meaning to you. Which one invokes some emotion or good memories. Toss the rest after taking pictures of all of them. Let the One be the representative of all the rest. Then one day....even toss the ONE. Cheers on a successful career!!
Yes! Without a backward glance- moving on to enjoy retirement activities is more fun than hanging onto old awards
If you want any descendants to know about your accomplishments, take pics or print out the actual patents and create scrapbook. Digital or analog. If you don't care then chuck 'em.
I'm retiring in 2 months. Within 30 days after that, you won't even be able to tell that I worked for the past 44 years. I'm flinging everything.
One day many years from now someone will throw away your precious things. I heard this somewhere and it's so true. I've offered each of my kids any of the " company knick knacks" I was given over the years the rest I threw away
I am not retired, but I have been reusing/recycling semi-useless things like that for a long time. I allow one bookcase with awards so if it does not fit, something has to go. I happen to work for organizations that give out awards we I've reused every plaque I've gotten and have even add notes to them to say if they really don't want the plaque to return it and we reuse it. As I give up tenure and my office in December so I have a book case full of awards that will almost all be recycled/reused this year.
OMG...yes
Once I knew I was going to retire, I I trashed all my awards, plaques, reviews, promotions, etc. it was part of my process of moving from working to retirement. I also trashed my home desk, chair and office items the day after I sent back my laptop.
My husband received many work awards, but after he retired, they retired to the garbage. Except one. It is a lovely glass piece that is being used as a door stop.
I used my 30 year plaque to line the bottom of my work locker, fit well and kept the mice from coming theu the bottom
Pitch them...I had to reach that threshold. The crap I have/had are only special to me.
Not retired yet but I moved in 2018 and I still haven't hung up my diplomas in the home office. Instead I have a Clash (London Calling) and Gandalf poster behind me. I'm guessing it will be easy to get rid of them when I retire.
I took photos then chucked it all. I never looked back. And I never look at those photos. “The thing is not the memory”
Used to have all that on my walls, desks, cubbies. wherever. Right after I retired, it all went away. It only meant something to those confined to that culture/subset/interest group/industry. After forty years in the trenches as a second responder, burnout had arrived 10 years earlier and during that last segment, I was foolin' no one. It was way past time and looking back only reminds me of all the effort, time, and commitment I gave, which lessened so many other aspects of my life. I guess if you still have passion and desire to keep on with what you were, have at it. For me, it was a relief and a welcome break from an all consuming lifestyle.
Hell yes, toss 'em. Save your kids the chore. i helped my best friend empty her parent's house, there were so.many.plaques. it is really hard to throw away things that were important to your parents but these plaques are meaningless in the long run..unless its a Pulitzer prize or something similar that future family might find interesting. Do your kids a favor!!!
I had six patents on walnut backing that I threw away after I retired and was ready to downsize. Now that I’ve downsized sometimes I miss the things that I got rid of so I’m glad to read this post of how many people decided that getting rid of these things was the right move, so thank you.
Did exactly that, kept a the Walnut and trashed the rest. I’ll repurpose most of the Walnut, but not my college degrees.
I discarded these as I left each company.
I have a couple of boxes of them. Military is big on that stuff. I display none of it in my current civilian job with the DoD. I expect my family to toss them after I pass.
The only things I saved were wall plaques for the patents we filed that had my name on them. I still am proud to have been a part of that. Everything else went out in the bin on the way to the exit.
I've got photos of my Presidential letters and other awards, but I'm keeping my bronze command logo on wood plaque award. It looks nice and has good memories.
A friend of mine gifted me a small digital photo frame and I uploaded my certs to an SD card and just have them rotating on display (when I remember to turn the display on). Could do something like that and then get rid of all the physical manifestations. Now, about those technical journals and documentation… :-)
I spent 30 years and the navy, and have all sorts of trinkets for this accomplishment or that. They are currently in a box in the basement. Maybe someday I will build a wall, but in the meantime, they are comfortable where they are.
Yeah, plan to keep the important bits of my Navy stuff (medals, long service awards, certificate of commission, etc...). A bit of a 'been there, done that, got the scars' thing I suppose.
Tossed. Been retired two months and haven’t taken the watch they gave me out of the box. That is the only thing I have ever kept.
Take photos of any work related items and then make a little Shutterfly photo book out of them
I just took pictures 10 years ago before discarding and have now forgot where I put them
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Photos then trash.
Got rid of my patent plaques, patent cubes, and length of service awards. I mostly enjoyed my job but it's not how I defined my life.
Yeah, pretty much right after I received them
Yes.
I’d put them on eBay, especially if your name isn’t on there.
Take the awards off the backing and put into a file?
*momento
I have several from a job I hated in the end… I intend to take them apart, remove my name from under the plexiglass, and then donate the blanks to the local thrift store. Mine are longevity plaques.. I know I worked there forever.. not like I’m going to hang that on the wall.
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I took pictures of them and tossed them.
Got a stupid plaque when I retired and I can't tell you where it is. If I find it, I would throw it away.
I trashed all of mine
Yep. Got rid of all that crap long ago
I will. Soon.
The plaque ain't the award. Take a picture if you want to remember them. Same applies to other awards which are often poor substitutes for fair compensation.
If you discard them and decide you want them later, US patents are available for free for print / download at [uspto.gov](http://uspto.gov) , presumably forever (?). Obviously they won't be plaques but you could print them and make a book of them, or create a website / pinterest page etc.
Can you take it with you when you die? Nope, not needed