THANK YOU for watching!! You can find the free printable here: www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2019/12/05/decluttering-questions-free-printable/ and the photo app I mentioned is Google PhotoScan :)
Last year I made up memory boxes for me and my two kids,I also digitised their photos and minimised my photos,put into albums and digitised these too! While the momentum was there I offered to sort a life times supply of my mum and dad's photographs, as she always regretted not putting them in albums and she is so thankful that I took on this task for her....I did it in 15days,mind you I have not digitised these,but know it will be easy to do using photoscan. I've got such a sense of achievement now and recommend anyone to take this on!! x
When not keeping sentimental items and old photos, be sure to check with all your extended family members. When my mother was downsizing her photos, she ran across one of an old college friend. She tracked down that person's daughter to see if she'd like the photo. It turned out that the daughter's house had recently burned down, along with all the family photos. Now the photo my mother had was this daughter's ONLY surviving photo she had of her mother. These sentimental items are irreplaceable, and while you shouldn't keep them if they're not meaningful to you, that doesn't mean they're not meaningful to everybod else. Be thoughtful.
I agree, when sorting my mums photos for her, I kept the photos to the side of ppl I didn't know, as I assumed that she would and she did, she also gave some of these photos to other family members/friends, as these didn't necessarily need to be in my mums albums x
Ann, I did this with a cookie jar. My friend gave it to me as a gift when we were each young brides. She died before she was 30 and left small children. I recently gave it to her child because I felt like after I am gone that my children wouldn't realize the sentimental value of it and it would be donated. My friend has nothing that was her mother's and cherishes this jar now.
Love this. We know a family whose house burned down. One of their friends asked everyone who knew them to contribute any pics they had with the family in them and put them all together in an album and gave it to the family. I thought that was awesome. This was before everything was digital. My cousins did sports with one of the boys in the family so I remember my aunt making duplicates of all the photos for them
Couple years ago my granny died. I loved her as she was my mother, she was very dear to my heart. When she died I only wanted her teapot, that is something what realy remaind me on my childhood with her. Now, every time a have tea I think of her and honor our time together. Nothing else I needed. Just that. 💗💗💗💗
Story time: I have a beautiful necklace that belonged to my grandmother that I kept in a box in the top of my closet. The last time I decluttered that space I came across it again and decided that my grandmother bought the piece to wear it and enjoy it so that is what I was going to do. I wear the piece at least once a week. I was recently in a business that we frequent and the cashier commented on my necklace. I told her it belonged to my grandmother and she said I have a piece that I love that belonged to my mom but I am afraid of losing it and I said to her ... think about it like this...when you are no longer on this earth ...what will happen to that piece of jewelry? Will anyone in your family even know how much it meant to you or will they just find a piece of jewelry in your jewelry box and give it to charity or maybe sell it in a yard sale or maybe one of the women in your life will keep it and wear it. I told her she should get the piece out and wear it and enjoy it and if she happened to lose it well she had a chance to get some enjoyment from it while she owned it instead of it just sitting in a box and hopefully it would give joy to the person that finds it if she in fact ever did really lose it. She told me thank you for saying that to me ..I needed to hear that! We put things away to protect them because we love them ...but how much do we really love them if we NEVER use them or look at them??
Oh..ive been promising my kids I would scrapbook..they are like 40 now...lol..i want to, but it's expensive to do all that..so..but I have to do something.
I did scrapbooks years ago but I have too many and they take up a lot of space. Trying to figure out how to better organize old photos and memorabilia.
@@pamelastansbury1407 my daughter did a scrapbook on-line and had the book printed and sent to me as a gift. I’m wondering if that would be less expensive.
I’ve watched a lot of videos on how to go through sentimental items, and this is the best I’ve seen yet. Your four categories bring a fresh perspective to such a sensitive matter. Thank you!
My kids are now 19 and 21. I have finally started going through their school projects and papers and I saved EVERYTHING! I recently chose the best and have recycled the rest. Younger Moms .... don’t wait until they are grown up to do this!!! 😊
Ohhhhh....sentimental things, the hoarder’s Goliath of decluttering!! I do love how you categorized it!!! Something to incorporate in the future as my sentimental items are pretty much 4 rooms full of stuff presently 😅 Baby steps forward and thank you for continual inspiration!!
i have a lot of sentimental kitchen things, and am slowly getting over my fears and starting to use them. i love seeing them every day and sharing stories with friends about my relatives that passed them on to me. to help get over my fear that one day i will break these things, i try to remember this fabulous quote: the glass (vase, bowl, etc.) is already broken. “You see this goblet?” asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. “For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”
My sister-in-law has an incredible tradition with Christmas cards. They keep them in a napkin holder on the dining table and each evening, they pray for one family and then rotate that card to the back of the stack. I suppose birthday cards could be put on the nightstand for bedtime prayers and anniversary cards could be put wherever the couple does their devotions. They do remind people before Christmas each year so they can send a card if they want their family prayed for regularly. I'm sure that people send cards because they love everything about the idea. I'm sure that my nephew is learning to pray, to be thoughtful and to invest in relationships.
I have a ladle and slotted spoon that used to be my grandma's and whenever I use it I think of her. I love the concept of useful sentimental items like your red table cloth.
The music in the background was a bit distracting, but thank you for these categories. I've never seen sentimental clutter broken down like this. I'm helping my grandma declutter her home and she has tons of sentimental stuff. This video will play a key role in helping us sift through it all.
Cards - I have one of those display boards with the criss-cross ribbons. As an occasion arises, like a birthday, we display the cards we receive and enjoy them. Once another occasion arises in which we receive cards, the old cards come down and are discarded and the new ones are displayed. This system works for me and my family, plus we have truly taken time to enjoy the thoughtfulness of the sender.
this is a great way to think of items! I really enjoyed this video. The other day I came across an angel that was my Grandmas. My kids broke it and i held onto the pieces hoping to "one day" fix it. I finally threw it away this weekend knowing i wouldnt fix it and that is ok!
The little bowls are sherbert or dessert bowls :). We are moving again this fall and I have told my husband that moving day is deadline day! He doesnt have an issue w me decluttering, he just wants all the items sold instead of donated. I wont tell him what to do w his garage/shop stuff. A lot of its been handed down from older generations. But as far as the house, if we arent using it or it doesnt carry a lot of sentimentality, its not going to the new house!!! If it hasnt been sold by then, its getting donated! Its past time to let it go. I am going thru all my various totes of sentimental items and making shadow boxes for each person. The rest will be offered to other family members or donated. Thank you Dawn for always encouraging us!!! And for breaking down the "whys" and helping us move past hurdles!! You truly are a blessing!
@@cmck2021We live in rural Idaho. So there isnt a lot of choices for where to donate. Mostly just mom n pop 2nd hand stores. He was raised to never get rid of anything that "might be useful someday", and if you do get rid of it, you should try selling before giving away. But we recently went and visited his parents. And seeing all the stuff we will have to deal with in a few years...... has made him more willing to cut losses and let go. He told me today that he wants to do a swap meet in a couple months and said anything thats not big ticket (he has vintage broncos and parts and really expensive garage/shop tools and machines), that doesnt sell, he'll drop off at donation on the way home!!!!!! That is HUGE!!! He isnt as far as I am on letting go of stuff, so I will celebrate that concession! 😀
@@cmck2021 Last night I found out there is a daycare in town for low income families. And the woman whonruns it takes donations of childrens clothing. I told my husband about it and he was totally for donating our daughters outgrown clothes! So maybe you are right that he just needs to know its being used!!! 👍🙂
I want you to know that as I am going through my old photos and sentimental "clutter" I have you talking to me in the background. Your voice is a peaceful calm in the chaos of the mess. I have a plan, I know what to do and how to tackle it, but somehow having you here is so helpful! Like I have a great, supportive friend along for the ride!
Finally, a decluttering video that I can relate to. I moved back to my parent's house after they died. The very same home I grew up in. Organizing 50 years worth of family history, it's so overwhelming. I've thrown or given out a lot of things, yet there are still tons left which my heart refuses to let go. Thanks! ♥
So helpful! Love the idea of creating boundaries- that's been one of the most helpful methods for me to pick the best of the best b/c i get so attached to EVERYTHING! Often I just pick a number to shoot for like "I'm keeping 20 non-fiction books and 20 fiction books", but for items like papers and baby boxes it's so good to have a storage system in mind too! Thanks so much for the photo scanning app rec as well!! I have to go through a bunch of old photos, family letters, my dad's childhood stuff, family writings and journals, and family genealogy research- wish me luck!
I always keep special greeting cards and I started to only keep the most recent ones from grandparents, etc. So when we lost them, I still had their card and lil I love messages, etc.
The more I watch the more I understand that decluttering and reducing quantity really are the first steps before organizing. The “thoughtful boundaries” idea is gold and your tips for photos and cards are my next big tasks to tackle- thank you for the permission to not have to catch up on the unfinished photo projects from the past! 🙏I needed to hear that- these things really can eat at you without realizing it.
I have my moms table tea service thats been in a box in a cupboard for almost 30years my children dont want it so after watching you ime going to keep 1 special item to display then donate to the charity shop listening to your advice has made me feel better about parting with it thankyou dawn 😊
This is one of your best videos (and I’ve watched many). So many good thoughts and ideas. I’m still not ready to tackle sentimental items yet, however I think I’ve finally gotten them much more ‘gathered’, but I will watch this again when I am ready.
I have been watching a lot of your videos lately. Thank you! So glad I found you. I am not sure if it was this video or not but in one of them you suggest to stop holding onto the pictures to scrapbook, to just put them in an album and move on. I had a shelf in the basement with my pictures sorted by year. I sorted them back in March or April. I did scrapbook 2000-2004 pictures but then felt overwhelmed with the thought of scrapbooking all of the years from then until now. Yesterday I went down and put them in albums. WOW! That was such a time saver. The shelf is now empty other than two albums. I can't believe the guilt I felt by not scrapbooking them before but didn't even think of just putting them in an album. It was like I needed permission. Thank you so much. We have gone through the kids toys too and they love that they play with all of the toys and we passed on the ones they didn't love anymore. You make it so easy and help us through it. Thanks!
I can’t thank you enough for this video, Dawn. Something that resonated today is this: “I don’t want my home to become a time capsule”. I’m still having difficulty with my mom and dads things. I feel like if I pass something on, that I’m giving up another piece of them, and I already miss them so. I’ll reflect on what you said about honoring them with the things we decide to keep and use. Thank you again💕
Love the categories to think on when going through things. I do like the idea of actually using the items, I used to save and not use until recently. I will obviously never forget the people who have gone before me so just having a few pieces around to remember them when I see or use it is great. I have a lot in storage, probably 8 big dark colored totes (mine, my husband's, my mom's, cards, and 4 children's). I need 6 smaller clear totes, one for each family member. It will force me to keep only the very best. I need to Shadow box my mom's things and not keep a giant tote of stuff just because it was hers. And I've never thought of a pretty box for cards and to display them, but I absolutely love the idea.
I did a major declutter after my mom sold her house 4 years ago. It's time to let more go. What i have recently found helpful if I can pair things with some of my seasonal decoration. I am one that loves to change out my home decor to match the season. This pairing has reduced the amount I feel I need to display all the time. I even started ornaments that are kind of like the idea of a shadow box. I get them out once a year. Appreciate then then store away safe. I have a doll that i can not part with yet. bu I decided this year she feals like a Christmas vibe. She going to join that decoration and if I find myself not wanting to display her then I might be ready to part. Photos are my weekness. Love prints and am a bit scattered on how to organize. I am slowly giving myself grace and if I can get them storaged with no duplicates and in air tight place, I'll be happy.
I spent a long time organizing photos of my parents childhoods and subsequent marriage, family, etc. These albums were for display at their 50th anniversary. I thought the grandkids would enjoy them. Nope! The could have cared less. But, my two sisters-in-law pored over them so that made my day!
I really love the idea of using sentimental items. As you say the people who owned these things would not have wanted their stuff to be a burden. I know I would not want my kids to feel this way about my stuff. And I had a lightbulb moment when you talked about not worrying about the order you put photos in albums in but just getting it done imperfectly. I have a lot of old photos but the doubt about dating in order has been holding me back from putting them in a practical type of album. Thanks!
Bless your heart, but yes, some of us do have relatives who would love to burden our lives with their physical stuff. I spent FORTY HOURS in the month of January presorting my parents' two 10x15 storage units. We took more than 1000 pounds to the dump!!! And almost that much to a charity shop. Another way things in storage degrade is that they become extremely dusty. It's a very icky kind of smelly dusty. We live in a dry climate, so there is no mildew at least. I draw my strength from watching your videos (and also the hoarders videos) so I can learn how to interact with my parents. There is a lot of psychology involved for sure! Thank you for your videos, encouragement and wonderful insights to help us declutter!!!
I tried very hard to help my parents downsize before they passed away. It still took my siblings and me 2 years to clean out the house after they died. ( It was a blessing it was paid off, and there was a sizable enough estate to keep up the taxes.) I don't want to do that to my kids, but I do like old things. So far my three have already decided who gets most of the old stuff. My son, the non sentimental one, said, "Don't worry Mom, we'll just get a dumpster." 😂 He will be the cleanup crew after the other two take what little they want. I agree with you about the cleaning. I keep telling myself if I don't want to dust it I shouldn't keep it! 😉 Best wishes for helping your parents. Enjoy them while you have them.
Brilliant video Dawn. So helpful to have the different categories and the idea of keeping "the best of the best". It's so true that our attachment to stuff changes over time and we often get to a point where we can let things go. One big area for us is photos. My husband loves photography and we often have several good photos of an event. As the years have gone on, it has become difficult to remember when each picture was taken or when the event occurred.
I like the A4 folders filled with clear poly pockets and put in greeting cards or photos larger than 6 by 4. I use these for my kids art work then every so often will go through and decide what I can part with and what I want to keep! Xx
Thank you! Those categories are so helpful. I love the baby box and scrap box ideas, especially your comment about not keeping them in dark totes. I think I will tackle some sentimental items in the next few months and use this method.
I did it! Thank you so much for this video. I have a poor memory so I have always been so afraid to declutter sentimental items. However, six messy boxes and multiple packed display shelves were not allowing me to truly enjoy the memories the items brought. I kept going through the hard parts by imagining myself sitting down to look through the one slim clear container (like your Baby Bins you talked about) that I planned to pare it down to and smiling and enjoying the memories as I looked through the carefully stored items. Instead of keeping three or four things from every even or person, I tried to pick one item that really captured my memory of that person and then I let the duplicates go. Thank you so much! I ended up with two bins instead of just one but I am so happy and now could easily enjoy those memories any time. I have about three rubermaid tubs worth of stuff that is leaving my house.
Eeek if your a sentimental person it is hard😫 I have been downsizing for about 3 years and now getting down to sentimental items, your videos help and thank you🥰 I have an idea that I saw and if you have small items such as favorite marbles, game pieces and odd small items ( my husband! ) has collection of small rocks, marbles etc he would not part with them until I took the best of his best and put them in a qt canning jar to sit on book shelf as decorating and it has been a great conversation piece turning it over, looking at the bits in the jar and sharing stories about these items🙈
This is great! To your point of not having one more format for photos to manage, I took pics of my kids most important art work and made a photo book out of them using SnapFish. Then I deleted all of the photos (so they weren't there glaring at me to organize them etc.) and now have a great coffee table book, if you will, to treasure. So fun to flip through on occasion and remember my little artists!
I have watched this video several times. I really like it because I have so much stuff that my parents have given me. I keep the stuff that brings me joy. I have passed down a lot of stuff to other family members so they can enjoy the stuff as I have enjoyed it in the past. Thank you so much for sharing.
"The oldest child has this beautiful scrapbook and the subsequent children don't".....yep!! Thats me!! So I took your advise and got out the box of photos of my second son's first 2 years of life and put them in a pocket album. It was such a moving experience. (He has a disability and had heart surgery during that time) I hadn't looked at his photos since they were taken and he's now 13!!! Thank you so much for the inspiration. I love your videos. They help me so much in my decluttering process.
I love that you use your special items with the idea in mind that you should be enjoying them not hiding them away...reminds me of something Oprah once said on her show....”use your good stuff” and I never forgot that! Great video!
I live in a tiny house and I desperately need to declutter, as my fiance will be moving in after our wedding, and right now, there is only just enough room for me & my things! I'm finding your videos so helpful, but especially the ones on sentimental items, as I'm clinging on to a lot of stuff because of that. I realised that a lot of the books I am keeping are because they are inscribed on the flyleaf by the person who gave them. So following the rule of keeping the best of the best, I'm carefully removing the flyleaf so I can put the inscription in my keepsake box - and then the book is given away. Thank you for helping me with this process!
I'm not sentimental about cards, but I do like to keep the most recent cards from my mom, grandma, and great grandma (she's about to turn 98!), that way if something happens to them I will have something when their hand writing on it. So every time I get a new card I just decluttered the previous card. As for baby stuff, I kept the outfits we brought them home in because they were preemie and it blows my mind that they ever we're small enough to fit in such a tiny outfit that look like baby doll clothes. And I think one day they will enjoy seeing just how small they were.
Great ideas, thank you. When my grandpa died unexpectedly in 2003, we clung to a lot of his stuff. Yes, they were nice items of art & silverware & linens, etc. Still, we kept way too much because it was painful to say goodbye. The more time that passed, the easier it was to let items go. Some of that sting was lost over time. We realized we did enjoy items & were using them, but many were just tucked away, never coming out. If anyone is challenged letting go of family items, consider giving yourself a timeline & revisiting. Also, consider how special it is to have 1 item you prominently display to bring you frequent joy. My sister & I both have our favorite painting from his home & each of us display it in our homes.
I just donated my grandmother's quilt she made for me. I felt very guilty but I really didn't like the grandmother. I thought about passing it down, but I decided to not keep this in the family. I gave it to a dog shelter.
Going through my parents house when they downsized I found my 2 older brothers and my baby albums. My oldest brother his was completely filled out with pictures, my second older brother his was kinda filled out no pictures. Then came mine the youngest. It was blank. I guess I should be thankful it was purchased lol Just had to share
....and tomorrow I will be buying some baby box totes and some little photo albums! I have paired down 3 large totes of things my mom saved from my childhood and its still not done. Its a burden but I WILL get through it.
Senti,ental items can be such a challenge!! I am helping my mom go through the decluttering process and she has items from both sets of parents that is just too much for her space. I am trying to remind her to keep the most important items only but it's a process that each person goes through differently. She is committed to do the work though so I am happy to help. Your videos have given me alot of the tools that I am using to help so thank you for sharing your journey! ❤
You help me so much. I just downsized my home. I got rid of all the stuff I really didn't care about before we moved. NP! The rest still wont fit in my new spaces. I need to get rid of some sentimental and more cherished items WITH NO GUILT. And I have been watching your video's about that. Thank you. It's still hard but possible!!
Photos are what I've been procrastinating decluttering. I'm not necessarily sentimental, just there have been so many memorable events, and even keeping 1 or 2 is at least 1 large tote full. I want to display...but sooooooo many.
You are just so helpful with stuff. For me, I never thought about keeping just a couple photos. I've felt obligated to keep them all. Even people I don't remember well from Bible Camp as a kid. Like, I don't remember your name anymore. I vaguely remember their faces. But it probably would be better, to just keep a couple of the ones who I could never forget.
As always, I am encouraged and looking forward to putting to use the ideas given in this video. I like that you still use good ol' fashioned photo albums, and I see the wisdom and practicality of keeping only a couple/few pics to remember an event~ and not worrying if they are in chronological order. I am definitely using the "peeling the onion" approach for sentimental items. I am the one of our four sisters who was given Mama's pics and other memorabilia. I have a nice lit curio cabinet which displays some sentimental items, and it has been fun to go over each item with curious grandchildren and even some adults! My husband allowed me to hire someone to put together a scrapbook type album using my father's and mother's pictures from before their marriage up to their deaths, which included us children growing up, as well. Family members of all ages delight in looking through it. Before Thanksgiving, I had one of our granddaughters place kept pieces of our grandchildren's (we have 49 so far, but some not old enough to draw, etc.) art work in clear sleeves, and I categorized them by family in a large three ringed binder. That was a big hit at Thanksgiving time. Thank you for your ongoing support in making our lives simpler, Dawn. God bless you and your precious family.
Can you please make a video about sharing your goals of minimalism with your spouse and loved ones? (How to effectively introduce ideas without coming across as controlling.) Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas!
Start with your own things. Don’t approach them about their things at all until you have gone through every category of your stuff and drastically, brutally pared it down to the minimal essentials. They will see how nice your half of the closet and your drawers in the dresser and your bathroom drawer are and they will follow suit. It may take some time, but when my husband realized ( on his own) that he had twice as many shoes as his wife, he started decluttering himself.
Thanks you! Your timing is great! I have been on this journey for a year now. We have just finished the last of the main living spaces (main floor/2nd story) and pulled out several boxes of keepsake things that I need to tackle this weekend. (Along with Plumbing - Help Tom and Uncle Eric! LOL)Then it will be on to the basement and pictures will be waiting for me there!
I totally agree with Barbara. My grandparents and those before them kept all their pictures because they had so few. My kids are adults with kids. I have tons of pictures ( far to many to keep)and you should keep only the best. It’s hard to start discarding pictures but once you start it can be so cathartic. Worst case, quarantine them for awhile and then discard. I also love the idea of a baby box for each child. Mine are in their 30’s and I still keep stuff from them. Maybe I could get stuff out and do a baby box for them now.
I had the cardboard Chinese dragon masks that all four of my children made in school. They are ages 28 to 16 now. But, I still had these dusty but cool masks. I knew they took up a chunk of space and gathered dusts, but it was neat that I had all four. So finally I found a pic of them wearing them when they made them, then I took pics of them now, from the front, sides, etc and I’m going to put the pics of them as a child with the pics of the actual mask and then threw them out. Yes, it killed me, but even though I have the pics hanging up, I also have the pictures and they are saved online. They can’t get ruined, caught in a fire, etc, online.
Another organizing/downsizing pro I watch on RU-vid also suggested the “memory box” idea. Hers was opaque. I need to gather the scattered items/notes and start mine. I like the transparent one so you can see the contents. I’ve also heard of people doing a “dead” box, as in, “while I’m here, I want to keep this stuff, but when I’m gone, you can just toss it.”
As a greatgrandma! The big dinners are being taken over by my adult children and grandchildren. So too the big pans and serving dishes. I can't reach way in the back on the bottom shelf any more anyway! The cupboards are way more manageable.
Your baby box video lifted a weight of guilt that was so hard for me. I lost almost all of my first daughters pictures from birth to 6 months and all the photos from my second baby for her entire first year. I was devastated- especially because I was a very organized scrapbooker before I had kids ... and now I was unable to do traditional books. Now they have boxes and I keep anything that I find in them and call them "scarp-boxes."
Memories for me are photos for sure. I even took pics of my kids things from the past and really paired things down to one small box for each of them to take if they ever want it. Of course I have albums from the past but now, everything is on Google Photos and in albums there. I am a picture taker and videos of family. We even put our VHS tapes on digital, slides from my grandfather too. I am starting to use things that I really love and was gifted.
I was a huge keeper of cards received for special occasions. I eventually went through them and saved only the ones between my husband and I. I sorted them into categories I.e. birthday, anniversary, Christmas, etc and set up our own card store in a pretty covered basket. Since we been married going on 49 years, we have plenty of choices. We get a kick out of trying to figure out when it was first given. It is money saving plus recycling all in one.
A few years ago I asked friends on FB what they did with their old Christmas cards - especially the photos. They ALL said toss! A few even gave me "permission" to toss theirs. This permission helped me let go.
I keep cards & letters from family & friends that have a handwritten message inside. Those mean a lot more to me than just a card with a signature. My sisters & I each kept a teacup & saucer from our grandmother's china set. None of wanted the whole set. We each have a small remembrance of to display.
Dawn, I am a HUUUUUGE fan! And so, I have to confess, not sure if it’s adult ADD or what, but I cannot watch when the music starts to play 😭. Same with the Sunday morning. I couldn’t focus at all on what you said after that... and I SO WANT TO HEAR what you have to say! I have watched nearly every video even though I don’t have young children LOL. Trying to avoid being overly dramatic here, but seriously I am so sad if this will be the new normal. Thank you for considering my input. My way of thinking: if everyone would still watch with no music, why put it in if even if only a few don’t manage it well? Actually...! That’s it... it is too much to process/too much inventory to manage... stay with minimal video editing...please! 🥰
It has felt so good to get rid of old pictures that mean nothing, that I couldn’t tell you who is in the picture from grade school, and that were duplicates. I kept coming across the same photo multiple times but then couldn’t remember where I put it in the stacks so I decided to just categorize them in folders, then I’ll go through the folders later and pare down again. So I have my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, me as a small child, grade school, teen, adult, married, and then my husbands family, and my daughter.
When I was growing up in the 1960s, my parents only used film for slides, so I have almost no printed photo record of my young life. When I became a mom, I took lots of pictures and had them all made into prints. I then kept a box for each individual child, filling them with special photos from throughout their life. When each of our children turned 16, I made a personalized life photo album for them. They all love having their photos, remembering happy moments and sharing them with friends and family.
Photos are a challenge. I was great about scrapbooking when the kids were little, but still have boxes (and digital files) full of photos. The key is picking a few that remind us of special moments. I try to remember to always add names of friends and relatives and the date. I can’t tell you how many photos I got from my parents with no info, and sadly tossed them, since I didn’t know who any of the people were. We think we’ll always remember, but our kids and grandkids will have no idea.
The more I pursue minimalism, the more I want re-arrange my priorities for displaying sentimental items. I want to change the way we do Christmas ornaments by taking the sentimental items of photos or a special necklace or item and making them into ornaments that we pull out once a year and value and appreciate instead of store away and never see. We also have a clear file box of sentimental items for each of my 3 kids and my husband and myself in storage. We have one handy clear file box that we place all of the special art work or projects the kids have done or cards we received. At the end of every school year, we empty the one memory box for the year and pull out our storage boxes. We will add the special items for this year and also remove older items that are no longer meaningful or no longer fit. My mom saved 8 boxes of my kid items that she just gave to me. I dread going through it, but having a limit to making everything of my childhood fit in one box, helps me to set a boundary that I am enforcing with my children. I’ll save that project for later! I’m so impressed with how easily they can get rid of things. I think it helps to have a set date like Christmas, end of the new year or school year, etc... to force you to handle the items that are special to you. It creates something to look forward to as opposed to dreading. It also gives you a chance to reflect on each year and pull out the favorite memories.
I’ll be playing this in the background multiple times in coming days as I go through the last of my sentimental items. Until then I’m processing how I want to display the notes and photos that mean the most to me. Goal is one photo album with all of it. Pretty sure that’s gonna be harder than I think haha
I think baby boxes or personal box should come out every birthday. A time to remember and celebrate. Also to bring out sentimental items on special memory days of family. A way make sure we are allowing the stuff to inspire memories and the conversations that we want to have about those who are gone.
I display and use my grandma’s and great aunts china sets. They loved to entertain and I believe they would want me to continue using it. However, my family keeps trying to get me to take “extras” from my deceased family members, but I simply tell them I don’t have room.
Maybe it us easier to let go when you still have lots of family around you. I have lost both parents my husband and my sister and all my aunts and uncles close together. All I have left of my old life before my children are their things. I am finding it so hard to let go and as you can imagine I have lots of stuff. I have inherited all their jewellery and their sentimental bits too.
This series is great. I was looking in one of my sentimental boxes and saw my class pin from junior high. I don’t need that! What purpose would it serve? I have a long way to go in going through sentimental items. Thank you so much for this serious. I even discovered some great new bloggers
Thank you for some great tips regarding sentimental items. Now I just have to follow through. I started organizing all my photos in albums a number of years ago but now they're in a tote in the back of my closet. So I'm not even enjoying being able to look at them. Time to pull them out and keep only a couple from every event. I even have duplicates of each photo and I kept them! Why???...because I thought I would set up albums for both of my children. That never happened and probably won't.
Let me know how you get on. I have 12 albums in chronological order. My son won't want all of them, but my husband asks, you're going to throw them out??! Paring down to two or three albums would mean tossing so, so many photos. For years I felt good about getting them into albums, but now look!
@@sandrab.3538 I think I have 12 albums too. In my previous apartment I had an extra closet so they were on the shelf and I could pull anyone of them out easily to look at pics. All that time and money spent on putting them in chronological order...and for what?
thoughts on inherited photos and family history stuff? i have boxes and boxes… each grandparentvand even great grandparents… im more fascinated. with theirs than mine..but having troubke slimming it down. so hard to throw old birth / marruage certificates.. albums of wonderful black and white photos.. over the years i find myself drawn to different periods and places…
