Today’s post is brought to you by Sara Brown, the creator of Narrative Forth. She is sharing how to organize childhood keepsakes, something that most definitely requires intentionality. You’ll love her organizing tips and her gorgeous journals. Also, be sure to check out her interview with me on the podcast – Episode #61.
We all know the feeling – you’re heading to Goodwill and trying to decide if you should donate that old-but-well-loved sweater. In the moment, you can think up numerous reasons to keep it: Maybe, just maybe you’ll wear it again. Maybe you’ll miss it. You certainly can’t give it away, you fondly remember wearing it on that special occasion.
It’s so easy to do this exact thing with childhood mementos. You remember how sweet your child looked in that outfit. You remember who gifted those toys or stuffed animals. You feel guilty for tossing their paintings. You long for the days when they still sat on your lap reading that very book.
It can be difficult to part with childhood items because of their sentimental value. But if not careful, it’s easy to end up saving much more than we need. “I wish my parents saved 100 more pairs of my baby booties”, said no adult ever.
Organizing Childhood Keepsakes
Here are 4 easy tips to help you intentionally save the childhood keepsakes that are most important, and give you the freedom to say goodbye to the rest:
- Set a goal
Consider both the storage space in your home and your desired outcome. For our family, we’ve decided to send each of our children into their adult lives with one tote of mementos from their childhood. That’s it. Maybe the magic number for your family is 2 or 5. Regardless of the number, set your intention for how much you plan to save.
- Create a designated storage space
Identify a space in your home where these items will be stored for safe keeping. The sealed totes we’re saving for our kids are on an easily accessible shelf in our basement. For you, this may be a dresser, basket or closet. Just make sure it’s a place where everything can be stored together.
- Decide which items are special enough to save as they’re in use.
Listen, this is the most important step: Decide what’s special enough to save as your child is using it. Remember the Goodwill predicament above? The goal here is to make these decisions in advance, not as you’re packing that donation box when the temptation to hang onto something is strong.
How do you do this, you ask? Be present with your kids. Watch them play. Listen to their stories. Consider the toys, books, artwork, clothing and mementos that they love the very most. Reflect on which items are their favorites. What is worth saving for years to come? What has served its purpose in the present, but doesn’t need to be saved?
The answer here will be unique for you based on your family’s likes, rhythms and values. For example, in our home we celebrate our children’s’ art projects by hanging them on the refrigerator and in a designated space in the playroom. After we’ve enjoyed them for a couple of weeks, we toss them to make room for the next round of creations. But on the other hand, bedtime stories are super special in our home, so we make special note of which story is their favorite from the toddler years and save it.
When your child has outgrown the items you’re saving, simply add them to your designated storage space.
Everything else? The hard part is over! You’ve already decided to donate, sell or discard. No need to second guess yourself. These items have served their purpose in your life, and now you can free up space for the next stage.
- Get Creative
Find meaningful ways to save sentimental items and enjoy them in a new way. Here are just a few ideas I love:- Check out the T-shirt quilt Morgan had made to remember her daughter’s high school activities.
- Make a Christmas tree ornament out of sentimental items, such as a piece of your child’s baby mobile or their favorite toy train.
- Naturally, I love storing years of cards in my Narrative Forth Journals. Get a 10% discount using code morganize10 at checkout.
Happy Memory Making!
