When you have a lot of sentimental items in your house, but you’re also looking to declutter, it can be stressful. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be like that. There are some easier ways to decluttering sentimental items, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out and your house looks the way you want it to. Here’s what to consider, to help you get started.
1. Set a Time Limit for Holding Onto Items
If you agree to hold onto something that matters to you for a set period of time, then you can honor it for that time period and let it go afterward. That lets you feel better about getting rid of an item that might have a lot of sentimental value for you. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get rid of these kinds of items because they have deep meaning, or they’re attached to memories of a person who’s no longer in your life. With a time limit you have the chance to work through feelings before releasing the item itself.
2. Get Digital
Scanning and keeping digital copies of meaningful items can be a great way to keep the memories but not the clutter. Old pictures can be scanned and saved electronically, and it’s also possible to take quality digital pictures of other items that you plan to give away. Anytime you want to take a trip down memory lane, you’ll have the digital pictures to look through, but you won’t have clutter in your home.
3. Pass Things Along to Others
If you know of someone in your family or group of friends who would like to have one of the sentimental items you’re holding onto, why not pass it along to them? That way it’s not causing clutter in your house, you know where it is, and they can enjoy it in their home, instead. That can be a great compromise for everyone involved. You can also give them to people in your community who are in need of them, as well.
4. Consider Displaying Some Things
Instead of storing items and keeping them locked away, you could display them as decoration. Framing your wedding invitation along with some pictures, for example, or framing your grandmother’s recipe cards, can give you decorative options without contributing to any kind of clutter. There’s nothing wrong with keeping sentimental items that mean a lot to you. The goal is just to keep them in a way that works for your space, and keeps things neat and orderly.
No matter what you decide to do with your sentimental items, you’ll have some choices to make if you really want to declutter your space. Even if you have a lot of items that have been passed down to you, remember that you have the right to live in a space you feel good about. If you don’t want to keep some or al of the items, or they’re just packed away in boxes all the time, making a decision to declutter can be the right choice.
