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Writer's pictureElena Harris

Where to Declutter Last: Sentimental Items

Updated: Oct 17, 2023

Welcome to the last installment (except a bonus coming soon) of my blog series on what order you should declutter your home in. We've looked at why you should start in the kitchen, move to the bathroom next, declutter your closet third, declutter your bedroom after that, #5 tackle your entryway, and #6 make a personalized plan for where to declutter from there. However there is one important thing I did not talk about in the planning stage...


When should you declutter and organize your sentimental items?


The answer is last, you should declutter them last.



As I've said before, one of the biggest hurtles of decluttering is making enough progress, fast enough that you can see some positive change and therefore, keep up the momentum. Sentimental items are absolute momentum killers. You might be sorting happily along and then you pick up an item that makes you feel sad, nostalgic, or regretful and all decluttering halts.


Therefore, my suggestion is that you leave all sentimental items to the very end. You can do this by putting these items come across them into bins or boxes and setting them to the side. Make a place in a closet or the garage to store these boxes until you finish decluttering and organizing the rest of your home.



DISCLAIMER:

This does NOT mean that anytime you feel a strong emotion about an item you can just classify it as sentimental and throw it in the sentimental box to deal with later. If you did that, your sentimental box corner would end up being ALL your closets, your garage, and let's be real, probably your entire house.


Let's define sentimental items so you know when to push through the discomfort and make a decision in the moment, and when to lay it aside for later.


What Are Sentimental Items?


Sentimental items are things that you keep or have kept BECAUSE they hold a memory. Lots of items may feel sentimental to you because they make you feel a certain way, but if you keep them for their practical purpose, then it does not count as a sentimental item to store away.


Anything CAN be a sentimental item, but most aren't. For example, one shirt (like your high school team jersey) you might keep purely for it's sentimental value rather than it's practical value. And another shirt (like your favorite blue one) you keep for it's practical value not it's sentimental value, even though you may have lots of memories attached to it.


So, if you are currently using an item or it has a very practical use for you, you can know right away that it is not a sentimental item to decide on later.


Here are some items that are usually sentimental that you can put in a sentimental box whenever you come across them (unless they are easy to trash or donate for you right away):

  • Photos

  • Knick knacks (display them right away if you can/want)

  • Filled diaries, journals, or planners (I have a whole shelf of these in my living room by the way so no shame if you keep them too)

  • Childhood memorabilia

  • Travel/event keepsakes

  • Greeting cards & letters

  • Sentimental clothes (see example above for definition/example)

  • Awards

  • Sentimental documents (like old report cards, first drivers license, college acceptance letter, etc)

Conquer Your Sentimental Items Once & For All!


Once you've finished the rest of your house, it's time to sort, declutter, and organize your sentimental items. Follow these steps to conquer your sentimental pile:

  1. Separate your items from the items of others if you haven't already. Fully sort, declutter, and organize your sentimental items before trying to help anyone else deal with theirs.

  2. Sort your items into logical categories and declutter while you go. For example, your categories might be photos, cards, keep sakes from your child hood (separate paper from larger items), and keepsakes from your travels (sort by location). While you separate all your keepsakes into these categories, decide whether you are going to keep or get rid of each item. Some questions that might help are:

    1. Does this remind me of something I want to remember? Or something I'd rather forget?

    2. Does this bring me joy?

    3. How many other items do I already have that remind me of this memory/time of my life?

    4. Do I have space for this?

    5. How do I want to enjoy this?

    6. Could this better serve someone else?

  3. Sort all your items into your keepsake bin, items to display, and project bins. If you keep all your sentimental items in cardboard boxes in the garage the rest of your life, they will not bring you any value or joy. So it's time to figure out how you are going to enjoy your items on a yearly, monthly, or daily basis. Below are a bunch of examples of how to do this, but the point is to get all your sentimental items into one of three categories: (1) your one chest or bin (quality with a lid) where you store all sentimental items you are not displaying in your home, (2) items you are ready to display now (go put them up!), and (3) bins of projects you are working on in order to display your sentimental items.

Ideas & Examples for Keepsake Bin, Items to Display, & Sentimental Project Bins


Keepsake bin: Put large items that you don't want to display but want to be able to look at once and a while in your keepsake bin. Examples include your favorite childhood toy (that is too ugly/worn out to use as a bookend or shelf decor item), Knick Knacks (that you don't have an open space for right now or fit your decor style), photo albums, year books, etc. ALL items that are not being displayed in your home should fit in this box. If it doesn't all fit, decluttering some items or getting a large wooden hope chest. It may be hard for many people to fit all their memorabilia into one container, but if you can't fit it all in one bin, it will be too much to look through on a rainy afternoon anyway. So cut it down to your absolute favorites and then enjoy those to the fullest!



Display now: Your keepsake bin can't hold all the memories you have, so put your most beautiful and meaningful sentimental items out where you can see or use them now. Some examples of how you can display your items includes using it as a bookend, coffee table book (great for scrapbooks/photo albums), storing them on a shelf in your house, hanging it on the wall, and using it for it's intended purpose. Yes! You are allowed to wear that bridesmaids dress to church if it still fits you and use your grandma's china on a random Tuesday.



Project bins - paper items: For paper items that you have a lot of (like photos and cards), make a small project bin for each grouping that you'd like to put into a photo album, scrapbook, photo book (lots of websites you can make one on, just digitize your photos first), wall collage, etc. Each project should get it's own small bag or bin to keep things separate and organized so when you DO get the inspiration to work on them, you'll know just were to look.



Project bins - sewing: For cloth items like sentimental clothes, baby blankets, etc., decide how you want to display those items in your home and then do it. Maybe make a quilt or new piece of clothing with the material so you can use and enjoy those memories now. All your sentimental t-shirts will not fit in your one sentimental bin so find a way to display them!



Project bins - upcycling: For items you love but are looking a little worn out or outdated, give them a new coat of paint, some glue, or whatever they need so you can proudly display them in your space.


Need help decluttering your home or your sentimental items?

Contact me today for one-on-one declutter coaching.


Read the whole series:

7. Where to Declutter Last: Sentimental Items (this post!)

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