Keepsakes or Clutter? Practical Tips for Sentimental Things

Summer vacations can be almost magical. We get to step out of our routines and usual spaces and explore new sights and activities. The memories we bring back home with us are often accompanied by souvenirs or keepsakes. We add little collections of seashells to our kitchen counters or bookshelves right away.

Maybe in a few months, we will scoop these seashells into a drawer or a box. We have a stack of t-shirts with destination names in our closet or dresser. Or we have coffee mugs, pottery, art, soaps - any number of keepsakes from our travels.

Collection of seashells (photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

We add these souvenirs to the treasured items of our lives, all tangible triggers of happy or particularly meaningful memories.

T-shirts from concerts of bands we love. Quilts handed down from grandmas or aunts. Artwork our children made in daycare. We all have sentimental things we keep over the years. 

When Are Momentos A Problem?

Holding on to keepsakes isn’t always a problem. Chances are that your collection of mementos from your life has grown the longer you’ve lived. Sentimental things become a problem when they turn into clutter. If boxes overflowing with keepsakes fill your closet or your shelves are too busy with knick knacks to dust, then it might be time to review your sentimental items.

Like any type of clutter, having too many things to fit in your space is a problem. Mementos and memorabilia can also be a problem when they cause feelings of overwhelm or stress. When the amount of stuff you have – whether it’s paper, mugs, clothes, shoes, books, or anything – makes you feel embarrassed or leads you to lose things, then you might benefit from decreasing your collection.

Clutter is easy to build.

Decluttering Sentimental Things Is Difficult

Decluttering sentimental items feels so different than decluttering other types of things. It might be easier to get rid of a calendar a bank gave you in 2010 than the dress your daughter wore on her first day of school. We see these things from our past and often feel the emotions tied to events or people in our lives that the things remind us of.

Sometimes deciding whether to keep or give away a treasured item means you have to confront how you feel about not just the thing itself but also the events or people connected to that object. It can be a difficult, draining, emotional process, but it can be rewarding. Dealing with the past can feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders. Not all the memories you come across or confront will be bad. Sometimes just the process of reviewing keepsakes can feel like a warm hug from loved ones you haven’t seen in decades.

Things to Keep in Mind When Deciding What to Keep or What to Give Away

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re ready to review your memorabilia and keepsake collection.

1. It’s not one-size fits all.

There is not one right way to declutter your sentimental objects. So don’t feel defeated if it takes you longer to go through all your keepsakes than it takes others. You might be ready to give away 50 things today, or you might be ready to only give away three. You will benefit from any progress you make.

2. Why am I saving this?

Ask yourself why you’re saving this object. You might think about when you received it or who gave it to you.

3. Who am I saving this for?

Ask yourself whether you’re saving this for yourself or to give to someone else in the future. You might consider whether that person will actually use or want the item.

Old photos and postcards (photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplah)

4. Are the moments or people associated with the object remembered in other ways?

Memories can live on whether or not you keep the things associated with those memories. Are there also photos or stories related to this keepsake? Maybe photos or stories, for example, are easier to store than quilts, clothes, or art. Giving away sentimental things doesn’t erase special events or people from your mind or your heart.

5. Could someone else use this or appreciate this more?

Just like when you declutter other types of belongings, you can ask yourself whether an object can be more useful to someone else. If you have too many clothes you don’t wear, for example, you could donate them to someone who needs affordable clothes. The same can be true for sentimental items. Maybe you’re hanging on to board games your children used to play when they were younger. Now that your children are grown and no longer living with you, could you donate those games so other children could play them and appreciate them? You still get to keep your lovely memories of game nights with your children, but you can also give other children the chance to create their own joyful memories playing those games. If you have family heirlooms you no longer have space to keep, is there someone else in your family you could give them to as a gift?

Displaying or Storing Your Keepsakes

After you’ve decided what to give away and what to keep, you can decide whether to display your memorabilia or store them. With older things, it can be easy to throw things into a box and shove it into a closet or under a bed, but here are some questions to consider.

1. How does this item inspire you?

If you have sentimental items that you’ve already reviewed and decided to keep because you love them, why not display them? If something inspires love, joy, or other powerful emotions, maybe they should be displayed.

2. What could you gain from displaying this in a spot where you might see it more often?

Try to think beyond emotion for a moment. Are you keeping something because it reminds you of a time you felt proud? Then maybe putting that thing on a shelf or in a frame on a wall could give you a boost of confidence when you see it every day.

3. Could you create an album?

If you have a lot of photos in a box, could you create an album that could be enjoyed from time to time? Or if you have things you’ve decided to give away, could you take photos of them and create an album or write a journal entry about them? These are great ways to “keep” things without actually keeping them. The photos can help you remember, but the item itself isn’t taking up space. Maybe that beloved rocker of Grandma’s doesn’t really fit your decor anymore, and you’ve decided to give it away. Be sure to snap a photo of it, and you will feel better about letting it go.

4. Could t-shirts become a quilt?

If you’re saving t-shirts from your childhood or shirts your Grandpa wore to work, could those be made into a quilt? Coming up with creative ways to give new purpose to sentimental things can be rewarding. Rather than sitting in a closet, you could use these things in a way that allows you to see them more often.

Quilt (photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash)

5. Could smaller items be displayed in shadow boxes?

Smaller items can often be displayed in shadow boxes and hung on a wall. Maybe a collar and tag that belonged to a beloved dog is sitting in a drawer collecting dust, but putting them in a framed box on a wall might be a better way to honor and remember your pet. There are even photo frames with boxes on the back, so you can display a photo and store smaller trinkets like movie ticket stubs or souvenir maps from specific events or people in your life.

6. Use clear bins to store items that can’t be displayed.

For items that you decide to store, consider using clear bins. You can see your keepsakes a bit better, and they will be easier to find if you ever need to look for them.

7. Consider storage specifically for larger collections.

If you have a lot of memorabilia of the same type – photos or greeting cards, for example - consider storing them in boxes specifically for those types of items. You can find greeting card organizers or photo boxes that are designed to better fit your collection. Some boxes are also designed to better preserve paper items or photos, so they don’t deteriorate if they are stored for years.

Box of old photos (photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash)

Sorting through sentimental items can be a difficult process, and it can be exhausting and emotionally draining. It’s ok if it doesn’t feel easy. Sometimes we benefit more when we go through challenging times or when we deal with difficult emotions. This is how we grow.

If you’d like more guided, one-on-one support when decluttering your keepsakes, let me know. We’re here to help whenever you need us.