Why is it difficult to declutter sentimental items? These treasured mementos, which may have become collectables over time, can feel profoundly intertwined with one’s sense of self if they once offered comfort or belonged to someone dear.
Letting go of sentimental items is hard for pyschological reasons. Selena Jones, an Ontario-based grief and trauma therapist, says getting rid of them can feel like closing a meaningful chapter in your life. She added that people often become fixated on the fear that letting go of these items will make them to forget the memory attached to them.
But over time, these treasured items can pile up. What once brought comfort can start to take over your living space, turning into sentimental clutter. When too many things build up, they can make one’s home feel messy and harder to live in day-to-day.
This article recognises how hard it can be to let go of sentimental things. It offers practical tips to help sort, store, and declutter items to achieve an emotionally-lighter and more organised life.
- What are Sentimental Items?
- Why is it Important to Declutter Sentimental Items
- Tips for Decluttering Sentimental Things
- Reflect on Some Questions
- Acknowledge Emotions
- Declutter in Small, Consistent Steps
- Digitise Sentimental Items
- Create Functional Pieces from Meaningful Items
- Sentimental Decluttering: Letting Go and Keeping What Matters
- Decluttering Sentimental Things: Frequently Asked Questions
What are Sentimental Items?
Sentimental items are objects holding emotional significance and meaning for an individual. These items, which vary from person to person, evoke feelings and memories.
This leads to the question: What are examples of sentimental items? Here's a list of sentimental items that owners can find at their homes:
- Awards and Trophies
- Baby Clothes and Childhood Toys
- Family Heirloom (i.e., jewellery, silverware, furniture, and postcards)
- Gifts and Souvenirs
- Journals or Diaries
- Personal Keepsakes (i.e., old letters, concert tickets, and movie stubs)
- Photos and Yearbooks
- Rare Antiques
- School Projects
- Sport Jerseys
Generally, these objects go beyond their practical or monetary value. Their primary worth lies in the emotions and personal connections individuals associate with them.
Why is it Important to Declutter Sentimental Items?
Removing clutter is a task that is frequently postponed, considering the strong emotional attachment to keepsakes. However, owners of family heirlooms, passed-down art collections, and other significant belongings often overlook the practical benefits of sentimental decluttering.
Decluttering Creates Space for New Experiences
Organising your collectables and belongings creates space for new memories by liberating physical and mental environments from the weight of the past.
The emotional and physical decluttering of family heirlooms, items from early childhood, or memorabilia allows homeowners to shift their focus towards the present and future, making room for new opportunities, relationships, and personal growth.
Ultimately, letting go of excess sentimental items is not about forgetting the past but rather about creating the necessary tangible and emotional space to embrace new chapters and create fresh, meaningful memories.
Also Read: A Quick Look At Booming Home Interior Design Trends
Decluttering Cuts Expenses on Cleaning and Maintenance
One financial advantage of sentimental decluttering is the reduction in maintenance costs, especially for delicate items like artwork, which may require costly art restoration.
In addition, small sentimental clutter can also pose risks to homes. According to All Clear Clean Out Services, sharp or heavy objects hidden within piles can damage floors, leading to repair or replacement expenses.
Reducing the number of possessions or removing clutter that no longer serves its owners directly translates to less to clean and maintain, essentially saving money.
Decluttering Releases Emotions Throughout The Process
Letting go of items also serves as an outlet for individuals to release emotions throughout the process. As they handle each item, memories and associated feelings, both positive and negative, may resurface.
Interacting with these items provides a concrete way to process feelings. For instance, holding a childhood toy might evoke joy and nostalgia, allowing them to appreciate those memories before deciding whether to keep them.
Conversely, encountering items tied to difficult times or past hurts can provide chances to confront and release those emotions, leading to a sense of catharsis and emotional cleansing.
This emotional engagement fosters emotional well-being and cultivates a greater appreciation for the present.
Tips for Decluttering Sentimental Things
Letting go of items tied to special memories can feel like an emotional tug-of-war. But even with treasured belongings, it’s still possible to create a calm, organised space. Here are some practical tips to help declutter sentimental items:
#1: Reflect on Some Questions
Reflecting on a series of questions allows owners to move beyond simple emotional attachment and evaluate the object's role in their lives today.
Here are some questions to ask before getting rid of sentimental items that may have become clutter:
Questions About Emotional Connection
- How does it make me feel now? (Joyful, sad, guilty, nostalgic, obligated?)
- Does it bring up positive or negative memories?
- What would be the impact of not having this anymore?
Questions About the Object's Role in Present Life
- Does this object genuinely enhance my life or my living space?
- Am I keeping it out of obligation or genuine affection?
- Does it contribute to a feeling of peace and happiness, or does it create clutter and stress?
- If I saw this in a store today, would I buy it?
Questions Focusing on the Future
- Does this item prevent me from moving forward?
- Will I remember the memory associated with it even without the physical object?
By considering these questions, individuals can see which sentimental items are valuable to their well-being and memories and which might be unnecessary clutter or emotional weight.
Essentially, this process empowers them to make conscious decisions aligned with present needs and aspirations rather than solely being driven by past emotions.
#2: Acknowledge Emotions
It is inherent for individuals to feel emotions when confronting sentimental items. These objects, by their very nature, are imbued with personal history and meaning, making an emotional response entirely natural.
Attempting to suppress or ignore these feelings makes the decluttering process painful and emotionally draining. Consequently, collectors and custodians of these items should allow themselves to experience these feelings–whether joy, sadness, nostalgia, or even guilt–without judgment.
One practical way to put this into action is by writing down their thoughts and feelings in a journal or talking to a trusted friend or family member for validation and support.
As Modern Minimalism highlights, acknowledging and feeling these emotions allows people to create space to process them and make rational decisions about what to keep and what to release.
#3: Declutter in Small, Consistent Steps
From a few cherished items to a vast collection of mementos, decluttering can feel overwhelmingly challenging for individuals, both physically and emotionally.
To make this task more manageable, The New York Times recommends adopting a focused strategy: selecting a single room, concentrating on one specific category of items (i.e., a pile of papers), or dedicating a consistent time slot, like every Saturday at two in the afternoon.
The key is to commit to this chosen scope. Dedicating as little as ten minutes to decluttering within this focused approach is considered progress.
#4: Digitise Sentimental Items
While many believe that physically storing sentimental items are essential for retaining memories, an often overlooked alternative is digitisation. This process allows individuals to safeguard cherished memories using pictures or an online gallery.
Digitising sentimental items involves capturing items, such as old letters, photos, art, and mementoes, using a camera or scanner and keeping these virtual records on devices. Inspired by organising expert Shira Gill, this method offers is beneficial for those who find decluttering difficult.
Gill emphasises the importance of labelling these folders with broad categories, such as childhood photos or letters from family, to facilitate easy searching and retrieval. For those seeking practical tools on how to store sentimental items digitally, these decluttering apps are a great place to start:
- BluePlum Home Inventory - This application enables users to document and manage a comprehensive inventory of their possessions across all their properties.
- MyAssets - Primarily an asset management platform that catalogues and consolidates everything users value from finances and properties to collectables and belongings.
- Toss - A mobile application helping users declutter their living spaces through short, quick, and simple daily tasks.
See Also: MyAssets: The Digital Asset Management App That Get Things Done
#5: Create Functional Pieces from Meaningful Items
Repurposing cherished items into useful objects or quirky home decor ensures that the memory they hold is preserved while seamlessly integrating them into one’s living space.
For example, what was once a cherished childhood drawing can be reimagined as a unique wall decoration, giving it a new purpose and allowing the memory to be displayed and appreciated in the present.
Individuals exploring what sentimental items to keep and creatively transform will find ideas in the list below:
- Children’s Artwork → Laminate for placemats or create a gallery wall
- Event Tickets or Programs → Frame in a shadow box or compile into a memory scrapbook
- Jewellery → Restyle into modern pieces, charm bracelets, or framed displays
- Old T-shirts or Clothing → Turn into quilts, tote bags, pillows, or memory bears
- Old Wedding Dresses → Repurpose into christening gowns or a contemporary version of wedding dresses
- Quilts or Blankets → Resize into lap throws, cushion covers, or wall hangings
- Vinyl Records or CDs → Convert into wall clocks, bowls, or wall décor
By adopting this strategy, people can retain the sentimental value of their belongings and simultaneously integrate those items into their present lives with a new purpose.
Also Read: How to Decorate Your Space with Quirky Artworks
Sentimental Decluttering: Letting Go and Keeping What Matters
The journey of getting rid of sentimental items while emotionally charged is ultimately a liberating process. Understanding the nature of these cherished objects and recognising the profound benefits of decluttering them – from creating space for new memories and reducing financial burdens to facilitating emotional release – underscores the driving force behind decluttering.
Employing methods like reflecting on the items, understanding their emotional impact, decluttering gradually, using digital storage, or repurposing keepsakes can simplify decluttering sentimental items.
Eventually, decluttering is not about forgetting the past but about intentionally curating the present and future, allowing individuals to carry forward cherished memories without being weighed down by unnecessary sentimental clutter.
Decluttering Sentimental Things: Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is it okay to throw away sentimental items?
Yes, it is okay to throw away sentimental things. While they hold emotional value, keeping everything can lead to clutter and prevent individuals from fully living in the present.
2. How do you declutter sentimental items?
Start by questioning the item’s significance and the emotions it evokes. Acknowledge those feelings that arise during the process and consider keeping items that serve you in the present. If letting go is difficult, try digitising or repurposing items into something functional.
3. How much does a decluttering service cost UK?
In the UK, a comprehensive initial consultation for decluttering services generally costs between £40 and £85 for a one-hour session, or £60 to £150 for a two-hour session, with optional follow-up reports available from £30.
Alternatively, digital apps such as MyAssets and Toss can transform clutter by providing tools for managing belongings. For a low cost, users gain access to features like item cataloguing, item locating, and organising systems, all of which help maintain an organised space.
MyAssets: The Tool that Keeps the Memory, Not the Clutter
Sentimental items often hold deep emotional connections to someone’s past, making it difficult to part ways with them. Fortunately, there are tools like an asset management solution to help preserve the memories associated with these cherished belongings without the burden of being cluttered.
Introducing MyAssets, a web application that digitally catalogues home items. Effortlessly record pertinent details like the item's name, type, brand, location, purchase date and price.
For a richer, more complete digital memory bank, the platform allows users to upload photos and files, preserving visual representations and related documents alongside descriptions of cherished belongings.
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of sentimental items you own? Worry no more! MyAssets provides clarity with its group features. This allows users to create customisable groups based on shared characteristics, events, or relationships, further enhancing organisation and making it easier to navigate items.
Ready to move forward? Start letting go of sentimental items with MyAssets 14-day free trial.
