In This Article…
Decluttering Sentimental Items
I value the freedom of space that decluttering adds to my life. I don’t want my home to exist as a storage locker; I want my home to have the space for building a beautiful, fun-filled life with my family. Holding on to a lot of things makes me feel overwhelmed and like I can’t exist freely in my own space because it’s busy, it’s crowded, it’s too much.
Decluttering your space can be a liberating experience, but when it comes to items that hold sentimental value, the process can become overwhelming and emotionally challenging. It can be hard to know how to declutter sentimental items. Physical objects can hold a lot of meaning for us – they may be things that have precious memories attached or items we received from a family member.
When we want to declutter and make space, it can feel really difficult to let go of some of these special things. You may feel negative emotions like guilt or sadness when letting go of objects that you (or others) consider special or sentimental.
I was always (and still am!) a sentimental person, I would keep a small object or physical item to keep as memento or reminder for everything. I’d put some form of emotional attachment on a lot of physical objects – a rock I picked up from a beach on a daytrip somewhere, the notes hotel staff left in the room while I was on a trip, the 20-pack of candles my boyfriend (now husband) lit when he proposed. I needed to balance my desire for the freedom of space with my tendency to hold on to stuff.
Decluttering and Happiness
At some point I started to realize a few things about my personal core values – that keeping all of these items was me living at odds with my core values. Living against my personal core values set me up for unhappiness because I wasn’t making decisions that aligned with what makes me feel truly happy and fulfilled. Check out this linked article for a how to in defining your personal core values.
I realized:
- It wasn’t the things I valued but the memories they reminded me of – I was seeking connection by keeping things instead of valuing the memories and relationships I had experienced.
- I valued the freedom in my home and space more than keeping the ‘sentimental things’ I had collected over the years – I was limiting the freedom, simplicity and tranquility of my space by keeping too much.
- I was giving too much of my time and space to physical objects – I wasn’t being present or authentic by putting focus on the past and on objects instead of making memories and living life in the now.
I knew I needed to start to let go of sentimental items and continue with the decluttering process of my home. I knew I needed to do it, but I was struggling with how to declutter sentimental items. I was ready to continue and was eager to get back some physical space and mental space but I was still struggling with the negative emotions that came with getting rid of sentimental stuff.
Sadness, that I was letting go of things that took me down memory lane and reminded me of good things.
Guilt, that I was letting go of things that others thoughtfully gifted me.
Fear, that I would regret what I had decided to let go of.
Over years of letting go of the sentimental clutter I’ve found and developed some tips and tricks that helped me work out how to declutter sentimental items without (okay, not without… let’s say, ‘while minimizing’) sadness, guilt and fear. In the rest of this article, I’ll walk you through 15 practical tips on how to declutter sentimental items.
How to Declutter Sentimental Items
Keep on reading for 15 ideal strategies on how to declutter sentimental items while limiting the negative feelings of guilt, fear and regret that often accompanies the decluttering of meaningful or sentimental objects.
1. Don’t Start with Sentimental Items
If you’re looking for the first, most important tip on how to declutter sentimental items, this is it. If you haven’t decluttered before or haven’t completed many decluttering projects in your home yet I’d recommend starting somewhere else first than with your sentimental items. Try tackling ‘easier’ parts of your home like home office supplies or ‘junk drawer’ before starting with sentimental items. It’s a lot easier to declutter simple items where you only need to think about whether or not you’ll use an object.
It can be difficult to part with sentimental items because there can be so many emotions and memories attached to each item. Starting with other areas will help you develop your decluttering ‘skill’. The more decluttering you’ve already completed hones your ability to make quick, meaningful decisions about what to keep and what to let go.
Before asking yourself how to declutter sentimental items, build your decluttering confidence by starting with easier areas. By making quick decisions about what to keep and what to discard, you’ll develop a decluttering rhythm that’ll serve you well when dealing with sentimental items.
2. Start Small
Embarking on the journey of decluttering sentimental items can understandably be overwhelming. I had storage boxes, shelves, drawers (and even whole rooms) dedicated to storing my sentimental belongings. Thinking about spending a day going through ALL of these items was completely overwhelming that I didn’t even want to think about doing it (let alone actually doing it).
So, save yourself the stress – that feeling of being swamped and overwhelmed, by starting with only a small space. Start small and finish it completely, before moving on. You can start with a single closet, a drawer, or even a single shelf.
This gradual approach for how to declutter sentimental items not only prevents you from becoming inundated with sentimental objects and all of the emotions you have attached to them but also allows you to build momentum and a sense of accomplishment as you slowly witness space and freedom opening up in front of you.
There’s no need to rush your decluttering process, it can take as long as it needs to take. So, start small, take your time and just do one little box at a time. 🙂
3. Group Similar Items
Categorizing your sentimental belongings into distinct groups can be an effective strategy for how to declutter sentimental items and help with making decisions on what to keep. When you categorize your sentimental items into groups of the same or similar items – such as printed photos, heirlooms, or ‘knick-knacks’, you can very clearly see the quantity of each category of item.
Seeing how much you really have of certain objects can help you appreciate the collection as a whole and then choose the most cherished items to keep. A simple example is that 20-pack of candles I mentioned from when my husband first proposed – I do want to keep a physical reminder of this memory. But, do I really need ALL 20 candles to remember? No, just 1 serves the purpose of bringing me back to that wonderful time. So, I keep 1 and let go of the rest. 🙂
If you’re familiar with gardening… you know there are specified instructions for how far apart seeds and plants should be planted for the plant to grow the best it can and be healthy and beautiful. Keeping collections of objects is very similar… when you have too much (or ‘plant things too closely together’) it just takes away from each other’s importance and beauty.
Group similar items so you can get a comprehensive view of your collection as a whole so you can make informed decisions about the most treasured items that deserve a place in your life – collect all that you have and then keep your favourites. Let go of anything else (they may become somebody else’s favourites!). 🙂
4. Identify the Root of the Sentimentality
Delving deep and fully understanding the reasons behind your attachment to certain items is key for how to declutter sentimental items and helping you decide which items you can let go of when decluttering. Understanding the basis of the sentimental feelings of your objects will also allow you to let go of objects while limiting negative feelings like sadness, guilt or fear.
If you’re hesitating to let go of something even though you’d rather not keep it or have decided it’s something you can declutter – take the time to dissect the true underlying emotions behind the hesitation. Understanding ‘the why’ behind the items you keep just “to keep them” can allow you to work through those emotions and let go of material things guilt-free.
For example, if the reluctance to part with a few objects that you may have received from your grandparents’ stems from regret about not spending ample time with them, remind yourself that their true legacy resides in the cherished memories you shared and not the material possessions they left behind. Of course, you don’t have to get rid of everything (or anything at all if you so choose!). But, you’d be surprised about the number of things you keep in your home because you’d feel “bad” about getting rid of them.
Another place this comes up often is gifts – nobody wants to feel like they’re “getting rid” of something that someone they care about (and who cares about you!) had thoughtfully chose for them. But, I am reminded of the old saying, “it’s the thought that counts” and that is certainly true! Don’t feel guilt about letting go of these things, I’m sure the gifter would prefer it be donated or gifted to someone else who will use it and love it instead of burdenously taking up space in your life. Thank the person for their thoughtfulness and kindness and return their love and care – that’s what gifts are truly about, not the gift itself. 🙂
5. Trust Your Decisions
Amidst the decluttering process – your intuition, your instinct, your gut – will be your most valuable resource. If you sense the urge to let go of a particular item, trust that feeling. It’s extremely easy to start overthinking when you’re looking at an object and deciding to keep it or not.
I might need this in the future? Maybe X, Y, Z person will need or want this later on. I might change my style and want this then. I should store it for safe keeping or just in case. Thinking these thoughts is perfectly normal – but, once you start it’s a slippery slope to just keeping everything (which is sort of the opposite of our goal with this decluttering thing).
Trust me, your first instinct is usually always right – so trust it, trust yourself. 😉
Once you spend a lot of time decluttering, you’ll get a lot quicker at going with the first instinct (otherwise decluttering takes a reeeeally long time). A great system for how to declutter sentimental items and one I like to use is the 3 pile method – keep, donate, maybe. I pick up an item, take it in and then decide quickly to keep it, donate it and if I’m REALLY unsure it goes in the maybe pile. After I’ve finished going through each object I go back to the maybe pile and repeat the process. You’d be surprised how quick your “decluttering decision making” is when you go back to the maybe objects.
Trust your first instinct to keep or let go and always keep in mind that releasing excess objects from your life frees up emotional space and mental space, allowing you to embrace new experiences and memories.
6. Ask Questions
If some of the items you’re reviewing during decluttering are challenging you or giving you a difficult time to determine if it’s a keeper or not, try asking yourself lots of questions about it. Challenge yourself to answer lots of questions about the item’s significance to you.
Try all of the 5 W questions: who, what, where, why and hoW?
Who did you get it from?
What is it? What does it remind you of?
Where did it come from? Where will I keep it?
Why do you love it? Why should I keep this?
How will I keep this? How do I know I should keep it?
You get the idea 😉 The challenge of all of these questions is a great method for how to declutter sentimental items. Challenge yourself to answer all of these questions about the item’s origin and the reasons why you love it so much and why you should definitely keep it.
If you’re struggling to come up with answers to these questions, it might be an indicator that the item’s importance has lessened over time or it’s not as important to you as you may have originally thought. It might be a sign that this is an object you could let go of without regrets.
Assess your items by answering lots of questions about it – if you can’t it might not be that important of a sentimental item for you to keep. 🙂
7. Take a Photo
This is a great tip for how to declutter sentimental items and help limit the negative feelings of sadness, guilt and regret when decluttering sentimental items.
You can take a photo of the item before you let it go from your space. That way you don’t need to feel guilty about letting go because you can always look back on the photo if you really need to. You can maintain the memory without the physical clutter.
I give you this tip with a WARNING: don’t just snap a pic of everything you’re letting go because you can. This creates digital clutter in your life which can weigh you down just as much as physical clutter. So, just keep in mind to only take a photo if you REALLY need to preserve the memory but DON’T NEED the physical object.
A great example of this one, for me, is school accolades – I had various trophies and medals from my years in school. I always felt they were important and I was proud to have earned them. But, I didn’t really need to physically keep them (I wasn’t going to display them and they don’t really serve any other purpose). I took photos of each one so I can remember what things I had earned but physically let them go.
For items you want the memories of but not the physical object, snap a pic! You can preserve the sentiment while reclaiming physical space.
8. Keep One
This is a great tip for when you’re really getting into the specifics of how to declutter sentimental items. It is great for helping to limit the heavy feeling of guilt when it comes to ‘getting rid’ of items that feel really meaningful or important.
This is the tip you need if you have a collection of items or a group of very similar items – like a collection of hundreds of stamps or a large number of items all from the same person or a full set of sentimental dishes. Out of your collection or group consider keeping one of the bunch, keep only the most meaningful piece. This way, you honour and maintain the sentimental connection without being burdened by excessive possessions.
9. Share with Family
Family heirlooms carry a shared history, they can hold meaning across generations, across every person in the family. If you have family heirlooms that don’t bring joy and lightness to your life and you want to let go of them but are burdened by the guilt of doing so try reaching out to your family members and offer them the chance to inherit these treasures.
Sharing cherished items with family is an ideal practice for how to declutter sentimental items – it keeps the sentimental connection alive within your family, limiting those negative feelings of guilt because you still have a connection and access to them or of regret because you can still see them or even take them back if you wanted.
If you have sentimental heirlooms, share them amongst family members – it will keep the connection with the heirlooms alive among your family and you might ignite new stories or new relationships with distant family members. Talk about a win in every way!
10. Place Physical Limits
Incorporating designated storage spaces exclusively for sentimental items can be a strategic move to prevent clutter from spiraling out of control. You could consider assigning a shelf, box, or dedicated closet area for these items. This approach compels you to make deliberate decisions about the items that genuinely hold significance.
A designated space encourages you to limit the amount you keep so that it fits within your decided, designated space. It encourages you to make the tough decisions on what to hold dear and what to let go of. It helps limit the guilt in decluttering sentimental items because you have a valid excuse to not keep the items because you just can’t hold the space (physically or mentally) for them and that’s okay. 🙂
I like to keep cards, from birthdays, anniversaries and every event in between – I have a shoebox full of them! But, inevitably the box starts to overflow and I’ve decided I will only keep my one shoebox of cards instead of adding and adding more boxes of cards. Physical limits works for me on how to declutter sentimental items. When it gets full I get to go through all my cards and keep my favourites to maintain the physical boundary I’ve placed for myself with my cards.
It seems sad and limiting that I’ve chosen to limit the amount I keep! But, in actuality it’s the opposite. It forces me to regularly revisit what I do have, cherishing each memory the card brings and then keeping what makes me most joyful – what a way to inject positivity and happiness into your life! 🙂
11. Get Creative
I think this is an important tip for how to declutter sentimental items! When we think of how our sentimental items are stored, what comes to mind? An old box in the most inaccessible closet spot in your house? A storage unit that isn’t even part of your home? A dusty case in the garage? I’ll be the first to admit that I kept a lot of my sentimental items stored up and away – saving them for ‘special occasions’, storing them until I had ‘more room’ to display them, just to get them out of the way because I didn’t really need them. These are all terrible tributes to my beloved sentimental items!
Enter creativity and repurposing – you can give your old sentimental items a new life that transforms them into something you WANT to keep, WANT to display, WANT to hold on to. Transform old concert band t-shirts that are never worn in the back of your drawer into a quilt that tells the story of your live music journey and keeps you warm. Turn vintage silverware that was kept in the box and never used into unique jewelry that you get to wear and look at all of the time!
You can limit the guilt and regret around getting rid of sentimental items that you don’t want to keep or even use by fully repurposing them! Now you get to keep the sentimental connection (the reason why you held on to these items in the first place) BUT let go of the burden of storing them or not using them. (I always use this cliche, but what a win-win 🙂).
12. Donate to a Museum
A great way to loosen the grip that guilt has on you when you’re considering getting rid of items that are sentimental or family heirlooms is connecting with a greater purpose. A purpose like education and appreciation of history.
If you have historically significant items (vintage collectibles, wartime medals, artifacts related to your local community’s heritage) consider donating them to a local museum. Most towns have local museums that would love to display these items. My local museum has all sorts of fun things from the town’s history that families have donated (population records/books, old farming equipment).
This method of how to declutter sentimental items is a great mindset exercise – if you can connect your items with having a greater purpose than being stored (and what greater purpose than offering an enriching experience for others through shared history) it can help limit the guilt of letting go of items that don’t serve you. Plus!! You can always visit your items at the museum. 🙂
13. Revisit Your Items Regularly
As time passes, our attachment to items can evolve. We are always growing and changing so it makes perfect sense that our attachment to our possessions also grows and changes. With the idea that our ‘relationship’ with our belongings is always changing it becomes important to revisit our belongings, especially the sentimental ones, and re-evaluate how those items impact our life. Maybe it’s time to let go, maybe it’s time to repurpose, maybe it’s time to appreciate even more.
Revisit your sentimental items regularly to evaluate if you still want or need them. This process on how to declutter sentimental items by constantly revisiting helps to make sure your sentimental items don’t become clutter in your life. The revisit also helps you limit the negative feelings of sadness, guilt and fear in letting go of sentimental items.
As you come back to the same items again and again you can start to evaluate your true feelings on objects (since you can start to establish a pattern if your attachment is growing or dwindling for certain objects). Identifying this helps you be more confident in the decisions you make about keeping or letting go of objects. This confidence can help limit the other negative emotions.
14. Let Go with Purpose and Intention
Anyone who has considered massive decluttering and home tidying has likely come across Marie Kondo, and her tidying method in getting rid of clutter and settling into a more peaceful and tranquil home. Her method translates well for how to declutter sentimental items. An important part of her method is thanking the items you choose to let go of for serving their purpose and being a part of your life.
The idea of being grateful and appreciative of the belongings you are choosing to let go of is ESPECIALLY important for items that hold sentimental value. It is hard work to let go of items that are or seem meaningful and sentimental. But, we are in pursuit of a greater purpose, giving your life more room to fill with peace, calm and happiness.
Acknowledging an object’s role in your life and recognizing the joy it used to bring you can help release guilt of letting it go now. Limit the negative feelings around letting go of objects by releasing them with purpose and intention, thank the object for the purpose it has served until now and recognize the joy it may bring to someone else.
15. Enjoy What You Do Keep
The items you choose to keep are a reflection of your most cherished memories. Embrace these items and relish the happiness they bring. Surround yourself with the things that truly matter. Surrounding yourself with items of genuine importance amplifies your emotional well-being and reinforces the connections that matter most.
Decluttering doesn’t have to mean getting rid of everything!! It means getting rid of everything that doesn’t add value to your life. When things in life feel heavy and busy and chaotic, it is best to simplify. Strip things back until only lightness and calm and peace remain. I get a huge relief when my surroundings are decluttered and filled with only the objects that reflect the most valued and happy parts of my life.
Your life doesn’t have to be empty to be decluttered or calm or peaceful, it just has to be filled with the things that fill you with joy. So, always enjoy what you do keep. 🙂
Guilt-Free Decluttering
WELL. You made it to the end of the 15 tips – you are now equipped with practical strategies to declutter your sentimental items while maintaining a sense of purpose and emotional well-being. You are ready to tackle the decluttering of your sentimental items with strategies and ideas that outline how to declutter sentimental items while limiting sadness and guilt and fear.
Remember that decluttering is not just about minimizing physical possessions, but also about creating space for new experiences and memories in your life. It is hard work but we started decluttering for a reason, don’t lose sight of the reason you started. Add simplicity back into your life and we will all live simply ever after…
If you have more ideas for how to declutter sentimental items, I’d love to hear them! Any decluttering tip is always appreciated. 🙂
