Sentimental items are the most challenging to deal with when decluttering. Often, just the thought of giving it up is enough to make you feel guilty. All those sentimental items take up space and create clutter that can weigh you down. Here are a few ways to deal with those sentimental items without feeling guilty.
1. Remember You Are Not Your Things
You are still you, regardless of if you own that vase your aunt gave you for your birthday or that baseball card collection your dad left you. Sentimental items are often sentimental because there’s a memory attached to them, but remember that those memories are in you, not in the item. Find a way to preserve the memory without taking up as much space. Write it down in a journal, or in a computer file that will take up even less space than a notebook. Take a photo of the item and insert into your story.
2. Keep One Item Per Person
You likely have many items given to you by your family and close friends. As you declutter, group your items by who gave it to you, and then pick just one thing from each person. This way, you have just your favorites, and the other items aren’t taking up valuable space.
3. Scan Your Documents
Paper came take up a lot of space if you have a large collection of letters. You can keep them and free up space by storing them on your computer, rather than on your bookshelves. Many printers come with built in scanners, and it’s simple to scan your old love letters or postcards. You can keep your files organized on your computer and look at the old papers whenever you’d like, but they won’t be taking up space in your home any longer.
4. Store Them
If you have items that you aren’t ready to part with, but don’t have the room to display, then you can store them. Get some storage containers to hold your sentimental items and then find a self-storage space near you where you can keep your items. You can even rotate what you display in your home with the season. This way each item gets its chance to be seen and appreciated, without overwhelming your space, and it’ll keep the decor in your home from feeling stale.
5. Donate Them
Throwing something you value straight into the trash is going to make you feel guiltier than if you donate it to someone in need. Remember that while it’s fun to look at your childhood toys from time to time, there are children out there who would play with them every day, and get more use out of them than you would. If you have an item that a friend or family member has always admired, consider passing it onto them. That way they can share the memories with you, and you’ll be giving someone else joy. Everything that your family or friends don’t want can be given to a donation center. Anything that isn’t broken can be donated, including books, clothes, trinkets, sports equipment, and tools. Check with your local donation centers to see what kinds of items they accept.
6. Take Your Time
Decluttering is not a weekend project. It often takes several rounds to really scale down a collection, and that’s all right. Take the time to sort through your items so that you don’t regret giving away something that you really liked, just for the sake of decluttering. Decluttering also takes practice. As you work on giving away items that had some sentiment, getting rid of items with a lot of sentimental value will become easier.
