Decluttering Part Two: Sentimental Items

I have several large boxes of items that I keep because I am sentimentally attached to them. My husband, while he has fewer possessions than I do, is sentimentally attached to everything he owns. He is very careful with his purchases, but once he owns something, it is very hard for him to get rid of it.

Sentimental items pose a difficult question for those of us who are prone to clutter. Obviously, you should keep some items of sentimental value. However, if your sentimental items are taking over your home and your life, you need to de-sentimentalize.

Here are some tips:
1. Keep one card with a personal message from each person of sentimental value. Do not keep every birthday card, Christmas card, and anniversary card ever sent to you. (This was Jon's idea.)
2. Keep items from your childhood. However, if you do not remember the item, who it was from, or what it meant to you, get rid of it. This means that over the course of your life, you may continually weed out items from your younger years that no longer have sentimental value to you.
3. Keep items from your children's childhood until they are old enough to decide what is of sentimental value to them. This does not mean that you should keep every drawing the child ever created. Choose a few of the better pieces. You can even frame them and display them in your home. Do not keep every article of clothing the child ever wore. Keep things that are more important, such as the jumper that Grandma sewed as a first birthday present. Do not keep every toy the child owned. Use common sense: if it's broken, throw it out. If the child is not particularly attached to it and no longer plays with it, throw it out. Encourage the child help with this process.
4. Keep important photographs. Throw away unimportant photots. It is not a sin to throw away pictures. Keep a backup of your digital photos on a flash disc or CD.
5. Get rid of: gifts you no longer like or use, nick-knacks you no longer display, and items that are worn-out or broken.

If you have large collections of items, you may wish to consider paring down. That can be difficult to do, especially if you worked very hard to build the collection. Remember though, that the items are not worth keeping if they interfere with your relationship with Christ. (Go back and read my last post if this statement does not make sense to you.)

Here are some ideas to help you part with collections and other things of sentimental value:
1. Sell the item rather than giving it away, if possible. Donate the money to your church's missions or another charity.
2. If you are having difficulty parting with an item, take a digital picture of the item before it leaves your possession.
3. Keep one or two of your favorite items from a collection.
4. Enjoy the process! Put on some good music, make some tea, and enjoy reminiscing about your items as you box them up.
5. Remember that items are unimportant; people are important.