Sifting through Sentimentals

Ready? Let’s go!

Recently I went up to Bethany’s house to help her clear out her storage cabinet. We were able to pare down 5 large bins and 4 huge bags of clothes to just 2 bins! We filled up my car with all the items she was able to say goodbye to.

We are sharing the steps we used to sort through Bethany’s sentimental items. But before we start, there is one thing to keep in mind as you are organizing sentimental items:

You don’t need to get rid of anything you don’t want to!

As a professional organizer, I come across many different types of items that are kept as mementoes. Things like rocks, tickets stubs, or old toys are all things that can hold a great amount of meaning to someone. 

When working with clients, I really don’t question what type of item is important to them. I encourage clients to think about whether and how much of a certain item is meaningful to them. Often times, they have held onto something for so long that it feels like “time kept” must mean it is important.

It is okay if an item’s value and meaning changes over time and it’s okay to say goodbye to items. If an item doesn’t hold the same meaning as it used to, consider saying goodbye. But, I repeat, you don’t need to get rid of anything you don’t want to.

Give yourself permission to go through these steps without fear of confronting huge decisions. If you come across something you aren’t sure you really are ready to part with, keep it and revisit the decision at a later time. 

Steps to Sift Through Sentimentals

Step 1: Group all keepsakes together 

It is really hard to decide what you want to keep when you have sentimental items mixed up with common clutter throughout your home. When you don’t know exactly where an important item lurks, you want to keep everything for fear of throwing something important away.

In contrast, when you have all mementos together in one or more containers, or displayed in a meaningful way, you are able to be decisive about what you want to keep and how much of it.

Now before you start turning all of the inner corners of your closest inside out, consider focusing on one type of sentimental item at a time. For instance:

• childhood keepsakes
• greeting cards
• clothing
• keepsakes from a parent
• Mementos from a trip

Focusing on one time period or type can be more feasible than going through all the keepsakes in your home at once.

Step 2: Decide how much and what you want to keep

Now that everything is together you have a better sense of how much you would like to keep. Before you begin sorting, ask yourself:

What is your ultimate goal in keeping your sentimental items?

• Do you want to share the items with future generations?
  • If so, is it to tell a story or for future generations to use?
• Does the item represent happy memories you want to remember?
  • Do you want to display or use the item to enjoy the memories more often?
• If the keepsakes are for your own child, be realistic about how much will they will really want?  

It may seem silly to think about a goal for sentimental items, but having a clearer picture of how the items will be used in the future can give you direction on what to keep and why.

Set a Clear Limit

Please don’t use the excuse of “I keep all sentimental items.” That statement is ignoring the fact that some items have more meaning than others.

There is also a point when the amount of sentimental items becomes too overwhelming to sort through and even enjoy.

Think back to why you are keeping your sentimental items? What is the goal and who are you keeping it for? Thinking through these answers now, can be a thoughtful gift given to future generations who are left to sort through your items.

A few years ago, Bethany and I tackled her sentimental items. At the time 5 bins was reasonable for her. She had the space, and she felt she had culled the items to her most favorite keepsakes.

Fast-forward to this most recent trip, some of the very same items that she was certain she wanted to keep a few years ago had lost some of their significance. Having more space in her home, and keeping less items had become more important.

Tell a Story

It might help to focus on the story you would like to tell with your sentimental items. Can you pare down a group of items to one of the most important items and still tell the same story with that one item instead of five?

For example, Bethany kept one item (of many) to remind her of happy  memories she has from her years going to the San Diego Padres baseball games. That one item tells the story and evokes the same memories that 7 or 8 items did. And she has a lot less clutter in her keepsake box.

Emotion is Okay

Maybe not all of the memories associated with your sentimental items are happy ones. This is especially true if a loved one has passed. 

First, don’t be in a rush to make hard decisions. You can put all the items together and that might be enough. You don’t always have to sort through and declutter. If you have space you can save the hard decisions until you are ready.

As Bethany was clearing out her sentimental items she found it helpful to remind herself that getting rid of items doesn’t mean that that specific time in her life wasn’t important. It can still be a significant time in your life without holding onto the object.

If you get stuck

If you feel like you want to keep it all, ask yourself one last question, “If you could get rid of a couple, which ones would it be?” This question helped Bethany pare down 3 bins of journals to this one bin a few years ago.

Now she has decided that she only needs one from each time period in life to tell the story. Refocusing on the goal of the why she was keeping the journals reminded her she didn’t need all of them, just 2 or 3 journals would do.