Does this object still have life? Can I repurpose it into something useful? Do I feel connected to this item or to the memory it represents? Clutter is a registered trademark of Clutter, Inc. 7 Easy Spring Cleaning Hacks For People Who Hate Cleaning, where to donate clothes, books, furniture, toys, cell phones, and more, here are some tips for making sure fragile items stay as safe as possible. Make whatever you do into a sort of ritual. Maybe youre hanging onto love letters from your 9th grade boyfriend, like I am. Aside from the ceremoniously trash stuff tip, this might be the most fun option. Approach this category with an understanding that, by organizing these mementos, you will feel more grounded in the life youve built a life that is worth celebrating. Every one of us struggles with letting go of mementos. He or she can also help keep you focused and stop you from going too far down memory lane. Rather than leaving it unworn in my drawer, I remembered my daughter needed a new art smock. If you know you want to hang onto it, but you cant stand it taking up any more space in your home, we might know someone who can help. Check our comprehensive guide on where to donate clothes, books, furniture, toys, cell phones, and more. Instead, tackle one category at a time: kids art, photos, trophies, a collection etc. Dont use your parents home to hold onto mementos that no longer feel significant. I hope this series was as fun for you as it was for me I really enjoyed diving back into the Konmari world, and my house is feeling so much cleaner (hopefully yours is too!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Homes & Gardens is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Ive said this before, but Id like to emphasize this one more time for the people in the back: you should never feel guilty about keeping something in your home that you love! In addition to contributing celebrity content to Homes & Gardens, Marc serves as a weekly co-host for iHeart Radio's 'Naughty but Nice' podcast. If youre artistically or DIY-inclined, and dont feel precious about the sentimental object in question, turn it into something new. I wanted to get these posts out to you quickly so you have them to reference when its time, but this is a process you should absolutely take your time with. Do I want it to be a part of my life going forward. Keep them in plain sight so that you can reach for them often. Could you take a photo of the item? Make sure youre in the right mindset and ready to let go. This is a game-changer if you struggle to get your home organized. Press some flowers from your significant other. But if something is buried in a box or at the bottom of a drawer, its not honouring anyone or anything. Kids love to create and they often want to keep everything. I really like to have a small box of sentimental items that I can pull out and go through on occasion. Make the task easier by saving sentimental items for last when youve experienced some decluttering successes and built momentum. Cards from past Valentines Days? You can also click here to watch it on YouTube. Set it aside in a maybe pile to return to later and move on. Hold on to the rest with absolute certainty! If youre decluttering your home and need some help, check out my workshop 30 Days to a Tidy{er} Home. Weve got nine tips on how to store your not-so-easy-to-store sentimental items. Once youve reached out to the person and taken a photo of the object, let go of that object. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. If I had an image of it, would that be enough? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Build time into this process to reclaim them, take inventory, better organize what sparks joy and let go of the rest. Build a mixed media sculpture out of your old stuffed animals. If deep inside you know an item has already served its purpose, let it go with a send-off ritual to make saying goodbye easier. Just make sure you store the photos somewhere secure, and back them up too. Bring all your unwanted love stuff to a dumpster, close your eyes, tell your ex you finally release his/her energy, and then dump it. Will I forget a part of this memory if I let this go? Want to keep up to date on the latest Simplicity Habit information? As with all decluttering, this allows you to see just how much you have and makes it easier to choose your favourites. And with all the time you save from not buying boxes to pack, not driving to a self-storage unit, and not heading back when you need something, youll have more time to call the person all those sentimental items remind you of. For many of us, certain photos of a wedding, our childs first year, or a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation will fall into this category. Click here to learn more about us. Let your imagination go wild on this one. $('.ml-subscribe-form-1378204 .row-form').hide(); Visit our corporate site. Do you have trouble letting go of sentimental items? Theyll love seeing their artwork in a book and youll love that its not taking over your entire house! Unsure, for things you need another moment to think about. The feelings reside in you. Lets choose not to burden each other with stuff. Choose an album over a photo box, so you can easily revisit these memories during quiet moments or share them with visiting friends and family. But how do you achieve this mindset? As you start to address some of your more difficult sentimental items, start by reminding yourself that mementos are not memories. Your memories and feelings may be triggered by the sight of the object, but they arent part of the object itself. Duis iaculis vel magna tristique amet iaculis: We'll let you know when we come your way. Tidying sentimental items is a tall order but doing so makes it easier to live more fully in the present. As you work through how to decide what sentimental items to keep, give yourself some grace and be patient as you make decisions. The whole idea is that you should purge all of the things that dont really bring you any happiness so that you have more room in your home for the things that do! Of course, some mementos inspire us to work on becoming the best versions of ourselves. Keeping your favourite 1-5 items almost always invokes all the same memories as keeping the whole collection. 2022 The Simplicity Habit Privacy Policy & Contact. Will I forget a part of this memory if I let this go? Sign up below and also receive the Declutter Plan of Attack worksheet! For items that are more valuable, you could consider selling them, but be aware that this will take extra time, effort, and energy (and things often arent worth what we think they are). As you move through the category, dont force yourself to let go of anything youre not sure about. containerEl: document.querySelector('#fd-form-5d839cbe8ab47e000f14432c') Check out the Shutterfly x KonMari collection. The good news is there are things you can do to make the process easier. Let them serve as a reminder of how far youve come and encourage you to reach new, joyful heights. To push past any lingering uncertainty, try asking a few additional questions like: Why is it hard for me to let go of this heirloom? Follow the development of Maries philosophy and the method she developed to organize the world. Note: If you are reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click over to the full blog post to see the video! These are just a few ideas. I recommend using a service like Blurb to create your book weve used them for years and love the quality! To read about Heathers journey, from criminal prosecutor to professional organizer, click here. You will feel better letting things go if you know they are going to a good cause. If youre ready to do the former, read along. Lets do a quick recap of everything weve talked about so far. By the time you return to the maybe items, youll often have built more momentum and be ready to make decisions. Celebrate the progress you have already made and trust in how that same progress has developed your power to discern whats truly joyful. It can be hard to think rationally as we look over items that are emotionally charged. If you want some help in coming up with a plan for decluttering your home, fill out the form below to get the free Declutter Plan of Attack worksheet. She adds that her favorite sentimental organizers are the Sentimental Wedding Box (opens in new tab), Canvas Half-Wall Komono Organizer (opens in new tab), Momento Organizer (opens in new tab), and Papers and Komono Organizer (opens in new tab). Keep them in plain sight so that you can reach for them often. Pick a favorite old trophy (remember tip #2! As always, using the KonMari Method to ask what sparks joy will help you decide which items hold genuine value. containerEl: document.querySelector('#fd-form-5d839e061f3845000f2e624c') Much like you used t. to handle other categories in the home, we recommend collecting them together in one place. Did this story spark joy? We create a yearbook for our family each and every year that contains aaaaall of the sweet memories from the year. By asking what sparks joy, we honor how we feel here and now rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. A collection of items that spark joy for Marie and enhance your everyday routine. If you cant fathom getting rid of sentimental items in your home, dont! We cant count the number of times weve opened a dusty box of memories determined to free up space, just to find those special long-forgotten objects (like your grandmothers dish set). Its about keeping the items that truly bring you joy and preserving them in a way that honours the memories and people associated with them. And if your friend is moving into a new place, giving him/her your sentimental items (as long as they still have some life left) is good for both of you. However, that thought process actually diminishes the impact the person had on our lives. Or call Clutter! To push past any lingering uncertainty, try asking a few additional questions like: Why is it hard for me to let go of this heirloom? Printed photos that are too hard to keep? var $ = ml_jQuery || jQuery; The big fear we all have is that if we throw away these objects, we will somehow be losing the precious memories and legacy that goes with them. To find out how you can declutter your life, talk to one of our space experts. We allow more space in our lives. The ultimate test to whether to keep it or not is to ask yourself, does this object spark joy in my heart?. Picking just a few items that have great meaning to you means they get to shine and arent lost in the mess of all of the other things. That is not to say that everything needs to go. Of course, sometimes youre unable to. Could you digitize your photos? A collection of pretty photo albums will look great sitting on any shelf in your home, and youre much more likely to enjoy the photos that way. Of course, some mementos inspire us to work on becoming the best versions of ourselves. I'm Amanda, and I live in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with my husband and two sons. Next,schedule a Clutter pickup, pack your stuff, and leave the rest to us. These items are reminders of different people, places and times from our life. Baby toys, baby clothes, band t-shirts from exes, artwork, and furniture are just a few examples of sentimental objects that can easily be given new life. If deep inside you know an item has already served its purpose. If you feel like you need the object to remember the moment, but you just dont have the space anymore, take photos! formId: '5d839cbe8ab47e000f14432c', So, grab your phone and take a photo of your sons bowling league trophy and then feel no guilt tossing it. There are far too many storage units full of belongings of people who have passed because no one wants to deal with it. In most cases, I advocate for decluttering all of the other areas of your house first and saving the room that has most of the sentimental items last. Instead of piling everything into a box where youll never look at it, use your phone to take a photo of their best creations and once you have enough, you can create a photo album with all of the photos. When letting go of an item associated with a lot of memories, its important to say a heartfelt thank you. I recently repurposed my beloved Buffy The Vampire Slayer pregnancy t-shirt that I continued to wear it for years after my daughter was born. We make it easy to store your stuff by supplying packing, heavy lifting, and driving. View our Privacy Policy. Reducing clutter on surfaces, in cabinets, and on walls can be a big step. Now you can take a trip down memory lane whenever you want without sacrificing space in your home to do it. Instead of just shoving everything back into its box and letting it lie dormant for another five years, prioritize. This is a great way to get the excess clutter out of your home if its something youre struggling with, and I cant recommend it highly enough! Doing so will help you address your sentimental items with confidence. This is a topic that many of us want to avoid in decluttering. The most important thing to remember when youre decluttering sentimental items is that the item isnt whats important its the memory.