Tips On How To Declutter Sentimental Items

Going through sentimental items can be difficult. And depending on why the item is sentimental to you it can be even more difficult. Sometimes we need to think about why we are hanging onto an item and if it is doing us more harm than good. Today I am going to give you a few tips on how to declutter sentimental items.

I am guilty of this and am working on it. I have several items from when my mom and sister passed away that I need to part with. They don’t serve any purpose besides pain. We can start out with good intentions on why we keep things. But we need to take time to sort through why we are hanging onto items. They can be sentimental for a lot of reasons. Family heirlooms, gifts from friends or family members, really any reason.

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What makes an item sentimental?

So, what makes an item sentimental? The memory we associate with it. It can be a good or bad memory. Do you hide a box of items in a closet or the garage? Sometimes we hang onto an item because it belonged to someone we loved and not because it brings a special memory to mind. Do you have anything like this?

How to sort through sentimental items.

I like to use the 3-box method when sorting through things. I have this method described in detail in my blog post, My Top 5 Home Organizing Tips. You can read that here. But, basically you will need 3 boxes when you start sorting through your items. One for keeping, one for trash, and one for giving away.

1. Why am I holding on to it?
   • Ask yourself what the significance of the item is. Does it bring back good or bad memories? If you can’t remember where you got the item or its significance of it that is your sign to get rid of it.
2. Can you use, display, or repurpose the item?
   • I am going to cover a few ideas later on how to repurpose. But look at each item and decide if you can display or repurpose the item somewhere in your house. Or if it is in such bad condition that it serves no other purpose, it might be time to get rid of it.
3. Are you keeping it out of duty?
   • This happens a lot. People feel like they cannot get rid of a family heirloom. They don’t like it and don’t want to display it in their house, but they would feel guilty getting rid of it.

How to repurpose sentimental items.

This is your chance to think outside of the box with your sentimental items so you can keep them. Why hang onto an item if you are never going to see it?

• If you have clothing from a loved one that brings back memories try making a quilt. I did this with some of my mom’s favorite pieces of clothing. The ones that we always saw her wearing. I made a quilt for both of my sisters as gifts after she passed away.
• Take photos of the items and make a photo album. You can go onto any of the websites like Shutterfly, Nations Photo Lab, Snapfish, or CVS and have a photo album printed. That would also be a great gift idea for another loved one!
• Donate the items to charity. If the items are in good condition and would be useful to someone else, you can donate them.
• If you are hanging onto jewelry and do not like the style you can take the diamonds or other gems out and have it made into something else that you will wear. Or you can have the earrings made into a necklace. You get the picture!

It’s okay to keep things. Take your time letting go of things that are important to you. Grab a small waterproof box that you place small items into and put it into your closet. Wait until you are ready to try again at letting go of a few more things.

I hope this helped. Please share in the comments any ideas that you might have or if you try any of these!