This is my oh-so-scientific-method of what I do with Thank You cards:
- If it's a generic one line Thank You or a card that they just signed their name to I smile, feel grateful for the Thank you and then toss it unless it's autographed by Paul McCartney
- If it is very personalized, it's from a dear friend/family member/etc or has any sentimental value I will keep it.
- If it's a really cute hand-crafted card I will keep it for my "Idea Box" (a stash of cards that I've received that I would like to duplicate one day)
- If you get a ton of cards let's say for your wedding - this is what I did:
1. Threw out the Hallmark-single-signature-on-the-bottom cards and kept the rest
2. After a few months purged a few more
3. Before moving purged a few more that I didn't feel as sentimental about anymore and found $75
4. Went through the box again, a few years later, and purged some more....sadly didn't find anymore $$
Now my wedding card box is filled with the cards that mean the most to me.
In short: Hold on to it for a week and at the end of that week keep it or toss it
