How to Declutter Sentimental Items
Sentimental items are one of the toughest categories for my clients to go through because they carry emotional weight. In this Minima Journal, I’ll guide you through which items to keep and which to let go of. I’ll also share tips for storing and preserving these items.
“Just because something made you happy in the past doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever.” — Melva Green
My only remaining physical keepsakes: cards from loved ones (mostly my mom and husband)
set boundaries
I often see clients saving things for family members without knowing whether the family member wants the items. When relevant I ask, “Have you confirmed your family member wants this?” If they haven’t, I suggest they ask right away. Often the family member in question doesn’t want the items. On that note, if storing things for your adult children is creating a burden for you, it is absolutely okay to ship the items or give your children a firm deadline to pick up their stuff.
A client recently shared that his mom sent him five bins of keepsake without notice. He didn’t have a strong attachment to the items, but felt a sense of obligation. Just because someone hands you something, it doesn’t mean you are obligated to keep it—this also applies to gifts. Once an item is in your possession and taking up your space, you may do with it what you wish. Establishing good boundaries with your space and in your relationships is one of the biggest steps you can take toward simplifying your life.
One last note about family keepsakes: children’s artwork and schoolwork is meant as a teaching tool for the child and does not to be kept forever. I see so many parents burdening themselves with the belief that they must keep and preserve these items. If you are holding on to too much from the past, you may be weighing yourself down and missing out on the new memories being created every day. If you want to keep a few mementos, my minimalist friend and blogger, Alison Mazurek, suggests photographing favorite pieces and creating small art books: “Kid Art in a Small Space”
Edit to the very best
Our memories live within us—not within our things—but sometimes things can help trigger memories.
When reviewing keepsake, make three piles (this applies to photos too!):
Evokes a strong positive memory = consider keeping
Evokes a neutral memory = let it go
Evokes minimal or no memory = let it go
If something conjures a negative memory, definitely let it go. You don’t need that energy in your space.
When I graduated from college in 2006 and moved back home for the summer, I decluttered my childhood items right away—I should have known I had a future as a minimalist home organizer! I kept a small container with my favorite items (which I took with me to my apartment in Richmond rather than leaving with my parents): several stuffed animals, yearbooks, diaries, and cards from family and friends. The rest was donated to Goodwill or discarded depending on the condition.
As the years passed, my relationship to these objects changed. They no longer carried the same value as they once did, which leads me to my next tip.
Digitize to free up space
After a couple of moves, I realized I never looked at my yearbooks and they were taking up space I’d rather have available. I took one final look through and realized most yearbook pages triggered a neutral or no memory. I decided to save the few pages that I wanted and recycle the rest of the yearbooks. I cut out the pages, scanned them, and uploaded them to Facebook where I tagged the friends who were in them. People LOVED this! By scanning and sharing, I was able to get these memories out into the open and use them as a way to reconnect with old friends. Earlier this year, I went through a similar process with my old diaries (but didn’t upload them to Facebook). I love my Brother DS-740D duplex compact mobile document scanner (affiliate link), which I used for all of the aforementioned scanning projects.
1989 | My first grade class
1993 | My fifth grade class
Many years ago, my family had all of our printed photos scanned by Revolve (a local business here in Richmond) and each family member received a thumb drive with the images. I also hired Revolve to digitize our VHS tapes, which I uploaded to a private family YouTube channel. We love streaming the videos on our TV, especially during the holidays. If it were up to me, I would have tossed the hard copies of the photos and VHS tapes, but my mom chose to keep them for now.
Final thoughts
Most recently, I was able to let go of the few stuffed animals I had been holding onto from my childhood. I didn’t want to keep them, but even as a minimalist, I couldn’t bear the thought of them decaying in a trash can (I’d personified them for so long). I did some research and learned that old stuffed animals can be donated to a local animal shelter. I called our local SPCA and they were happy to accept these items to be used as dog toys. How wonderful! My stuffed animals could be loved by another living thing instead of taking up space in my closet.
The only physical keepsake I still have is a small MUJI box filled with cards I’ve received from my family over the years. My husband has condensed his keepsake items to a small 19 qt. Weathertight tote. We store both boxes in the closet of our home office.
My and my husband’s minimal keepsake on a shelf in our home office closet
Any time you can get sentimental items out of storage and into the open, it’s a win. Use the good china from grandma for your dinner parties, refinish the spindle bed from your aunt for your bedroom, or transform a vintage item into art with The Heirloomist.
When possible, I recommend saving sentimental items for the end of your whole-home decluttering project. By that time, your decluttering muscles will be strong enough to make harder decisions. By letting go of items from your past, you will feel lighter and able to experience the present moment more fully, making space for new memories.
If you need non-judgmental support going through sentimental items, the Minima team can help. Simply fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch!
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