Decluttering dilemma

On Monday--wow, the week has really flown by--I blogged about my feng shui/decluttering kick. Whether or not you buy into feng shui (and there's a point early on where I don't), don't you agree that your surroundings affect you? Clutter in and of itself isn't conducive to clarity of mind, but there's also something to be said for feng shui's intolerance for broken things or things you don't need anymore. Anyway, I thought I was done--though there was still stuff that I didn't need, that wasn't working, but it would have to wait until the fall, when the city would do a special pickup for electronics and stuff. Only it wouldn't, because I got an e-mail from Mom's Organic Market saying that they'd be hosting a week of electronics recycling at their stores from June 22 to June 30th. You wouldn't believe the anticipation--I'm not sure when I last couldn't wait for something this much. I've prepared my old laptop (anyone know how to remove the hard drive, since I can't scrub it, because the computer's dead?), two cell and one landline phones, a $hit ton of batteries, cables, and chargers, some obsolete appliances, and a bunch of other crap (including--I $hit you not--VHS tapes and LAN cards--remember those?).

So I have a (non-ethical) dilemma. I fundamentally believe in clearing one's life of old and no-longer-needed things. I especially believe in clearing one's life of things associated with no longer needed relationships. But in sorting through my electronics, I came across two sets of things, each from a different ex: (1) a CD of (really amazing) photos (taken by the ex) from a trip from ten years ago; and (2) a set of speakers--the kind you attach to a laptop--casually given to me by the most recent ex. Do I get rid of both for the sake of getting rid of both? I never look at the CD; I think I have most of the pictures I want saved on my computer anyway. But still. And I haven't used the speakers... but they don't take up much space and I could give a $hit about my ex at this point, so shouldn't I just keep them in case they come in handy? Or is holding onto either or both in some way holding onto the exes?

Which brings me to another point: I'm all about a clean break from old relationships and I'm all about getting rid of stuff, but I think it's unrealistic, and at a certain point, counterproductive to try to erase a person from one's past. Isn't it healthier to just accept that that person was a part of one's past, but has no place in one's present? Getting rid of every trace isn't going to change the past; you can keep a thing or two and still leave the person in the past.

After my last breakup, I immediately deleted all photos of and e-mails/texts from the ex. It took months before I could entirely clear my physical and virtual spaces from traces of him, just because it would take time to stumble upon those traces. There are some things I can't really get rid of, but it just doesn't matter. A few traces are fine, negligible.

So--I'm asking--do I get rid of the CD and the speakers?