Unpack + Declutter || SENTIMENTAL Part 1
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- Опубліковано 20 жов 2024
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I am tackling another unpack + declutter and this time I'm purging sentimental clutter! Looks like about 25 bins were sorted and set aside on previous decluttering rounds as sentimental and I aim to minimize this count down to 3 or so. It's hard to assign a number before actually decluttering!
Sentimental decluttering tags along guilt and fear of decluttering. How do you handle sentimental clutter and decluttering?
#declutter #minimalism #simpleliving #sentimental #minimalist #ad #babbel
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I am a grandmother. Everything I buy to enjoy for myself I don’t expect the generations behind me to cherish. Also my daughter helped in an estate sale where everything was broken or chipped so they had no value. She warned me to not keep broken things or she will be very mad someday. Hopefully they will bless my name because I have de cluttered most of my stuff and they won’t have to. Be brave and let it go.
🥰✝️🌷
That is a wonderful thing you are doing for your kids. I'm not looking forward to clearing my parent's stuff. Hopefully it will be a long time before it's necessary and I can help them before it gets to that point. All the cupboards and drawers are stuffed full. Every surface is covered. And my mum still keeps buying. I'm trying to introduce her to the idea of decluttering but she is not ready.
@@rowboat8343 We moved into a tiny garage apartment behind my husband’s mom when his dad died to help her as needed. She is now 91 and going strong. Her house is crammed in every available spot with antiques and. Stuff. The basement is lined walls of extras. Gives me heart palpitations thinking of going through it all to get rid of.
@@denisecarter5117 😥😥😥
@@denisecarter5117 yes it is very worrying 😢
"Erica Lynn, So Proud!"
Love, Your Viewers
In my own sentimental box (I only have one per family member), I have added a note to my son. It says that while the contents of this box were cherished by me in my lifetime, he will not necessarily have the same attachment and it's ok for him to let them go.
Well done Erica. I could see the pain you went through with the item from your mother. Your mother wrote this message because she is proud of YOU. Your mother will always be proud of you, it doesn't take a keepsake hidden away in a box to make that so. It's ok to let things go. xx
The lamp you kept for your daughter.. I had one very similar when I was around your daughter's age, I am sure she will cherish it, also knowing it belonged to one of the most important people in her life. xx
This is a beautiful message. Thank you for sharing. I needed to hear this too! ❤️ I really like the idea of the note to your children.
I love that you said that "I don't have to get rid of it just for the sake of decluttering!!" Yes it's not about just getting rid of everything it's valuing using and loving what we keep!!
Erica : moving on with her life
The Music Box : take me back
Erica : shhhhh
😂😂
😂
Lol, I thought thr same thing!!!
Something I do when I declutter is I tell myself that “I am not throwing away the person who gifted this item.” “I am not throwing out this memory.”
Well for the millions of people with aphantasia and s.d a.m throwing away the item is most deff throwing away the memories.
I could never do that, way too stressful. The way I pared down my 60 years of sentimental stuff took almost a year but was painless and kind of fun. I just filled a basket and took it up to my bedroom and laid stuff out on my dresser. Every day I looked at it, enjoyed it and slowly threw some things away and any I thought I might want I put in one of the drawers.I also took pictures of some things I discarded, framed some things of my Mother's and hung it on the wall, made a little art project with some things, mailed some to people and just generally enjoyed them and made it into a hobby. To me anything in boxes in the basement is not sentimental. Eventually I ended up with only one drawer full and I would periodically pick through it and eventually it became a a box on my closet shelf.
I like this idea. I will give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
I salute you for finding your own way to do this. It’s about getting it done in a way that works best for you.
I love this, what a great way to deal with sentimental items! I agree with you, stuff that's just sitting in a box in the basement is not sentimental.
I like that you lived with items before letting go! I agree. Any keep sentimental is going upstairs in out life!!
I love this! I was just in my attic and realized how hard it is going to be for me to go through. I pulled out one bin of summer clothes (I think that's what it is) and am going to do something similar. I actually went through my winter long sleeve t-shirts and any I wasn't sure about I folded neatly and put on my dresser top. I've been looking at them, wearing some of them, for about a month. Soon I'll donate the rest because I haven't chosen them. I'm going to do that with the box, after donating the "easy" ones. I like the idea of living with it and choosing slowly. This is such a great idea.
I know you couldn't hear me, but I was cheering for you and pumping my arms in the air for you! AMAZING!! ❤️
I totally was too!
@@ariaaske ❤️❤️
@@frogleymom oh my! Thank you!
Thanks for that supportive love!!
Me toooo!!!! ❤️
Wow, you go girl! One idea to consider: think through the scenarios when you will want to revisit your sentimental items, and what you will want to focus on in that moment. For example: you and Andy may want to look back on love notes and wedding memories on your anniversaries. Will you want to spend 30 minutes or 5 hours reminiscing? Consider that when you consider how much “marriage” stuff to keep. Another example would be when your (future) adult children bring a partner home to visit. Will your future daughter-in-law want to sit through 3 bins of “show and tell” or will you want to focus on a couple scrapbooks and a couple of their most favorite baby outfits? I’d rather have fewer items where EVERY one sparks a laugh or a story, so that I am excited to pull out my treasures and spend 30 minutes reminiscing rather than feeling so overwhelmed at the prospect of digging through the piles that I don’t even want to do it.
Love that! I am going use that when deciding what to keep and what to let go of seems difficult or overwhelming. Thanks, Liz B!
Try taking pictures of some of the stuff with your phone and store them in the cloud - then you always have the memories.
I was going to say exactly the same thing!!
I have made the same comment a few times. Taking pictures of everything, especially large stuff and keeping the pictures in an album keeps the memories with much less clutter.
She can have a slide show going on the TV screen saver. My SO and I enjoy the random photos popping up.
Yes!
Oh my gosh I’m having flashbacks to when I decluttered all my emotional hoarding - hang in there! ❤️❤️❤️
Wow you did a great job! You've reduced your stuff by (almost) an entire bin! Also, please don't feel bad about the amount of trash, you didn't "create" the trash just now, it's already been trash before you started decluttering, you've just finally decided to put it in the bin it belongs to: garbage! :) I love your decluttering videos the most, please do more of those :)
I agree totally about the trash. Anything we now own will in all probability be trash at some point in time anyway. When we throw it away now it just gets there earlier. I do try to reuse/recycle/donate what I can but sometimes it just isn’t possible and I have to make peace with that. The key is to not bring as much stuff into your life after you’ve decluttered (still a work in progress😌)
I like how you phrased this.
This is one of the most valuable decluttering videos I've seen on UA-cam. Talking through the hard stuff like this really models your thought process for other people. Lots of people know *what* to do, but videos like this show us *how* to do it.
So many times I have heard you say “my mom made/gave me this”. I don’t think you expect Becca to keep everything you give her, maybe your mom could go through her gifts with you? Much easier to sort through sentimental gifts while the giver is still alive 🥰
While watching do it on a dime I think she said she does the red wine test with items she has a hard time with. Meaning she asks herself “If red wine was spilled all over this item how hard would I work to save it?”
Maybe this will help you too
The question, if this was destroyed in a fire, how upset would I be? also helps.
@@pandaj396 that is a good question to ask for decluttering!!! I’m in the middle of packing to move, I’ve been in this house for 18 years a very small house, but trying to declutter things so they aren’t moved to the new house!! I will be using this question from here on out!!!!
@@pandaj396 that’s the exact question I ask myself. Would I risk my life (by staying inside my burning house for a few seconds longer) to save this item. If I wouldn’t it goes!
Glad it can be of help to you. Good luck with your move 🏠
@@pandaj396 thank you!!
Put the love notes in a nice decorative box and put it somewhere in your bedroom.
That’s where I keep those things as well. It’s easier to revisit them there. 😊
Take a picture of the graduation frame and note from your mom. That way you can revisit the memory.❤️
I got teary eyed over the clock as well! I lost my dad last year and can’t bear the thought of losing anything he gave me!
Edit like you're writing your biography. Not everything will add to your life story. Also, at some point label what things are, why you kept them or if they belonged to somone important to you. We're cleaning out my father in laws apartment and my husband and his sister have no clue what belonged to family and why he kept any of it. He was estranged from them until 6 years ago and just recently passed. They remember some things but it had been 30 years so they don't know if they are his things, or their grandparents. It's not a lot of stuff, but it can be frustrating for kids going through their parents things after their passing. Good luck and have fun. Keep the best of the best!
I like this tip!
My thinking is, if you don't know the history of the item, then maybe that is what gives you permission to let it go. If you enjoy having family heirlooms, you may want to investigate further, but if it's something you don't really want and you keep it simply because it was once someone else's, then it becomes a burden and is tainted with bad feelings. I have too much of that stuff. I am finally learning to let it go.
Nice job! If repairs to the cuckoo clock end up not being feasible, you could consider repurposing it as a Christmas tree ornament.
Do you know the book ‘The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter’? Maybe this book can help you with the sentimental objects?
That book is amazing, definitly recommend. I wish I could get my mom to read it without offending her.
I used this method for my sentimental last year in my Easter holiday decluttering. It is a great method!
I will go through my stuff again this Easter using the same method and see if I can get rid of more.. Even though I am down to 1 box now!
I have followed your decluttering journey from the very start and you have come such a long way! One thing I note though, maybe it's because I grew up poor but a lot of "perfectly fine" items you declutter go straight to the trash. Even if something is old, has a scratch or (like in this case with the music boxes) is broken it might still be wanted or even needed by someone. Listing these items in your local no-buy group will give people a chance to get them and give them a new life before they end up in the landfill forever.
Happy dances are underrated! Well done you! I am cheering for you and happy dancing with you virtually!
Do not scan that book. I’m giggling because I so do the same thing. You will never refer to it.
I would ask how long it had been in that bin not referred to and what has changed now that would make me refer to it. Only things I scan are receipts/records I could need for tax purposes like when I sell my house. I also find that other stuff I save on my computer never gets referred to again. If the yoga manual was important for me to keep, I’d just keep it as a reference book in my office.
As a teacher of English, I agree. I have scanned books in the past and it ended up being a waste of time. I never use them!
Agree.... do not bother scanning!
I agree. It's a lot of time spent and it's not the space-saving answer... My google drive is 98% full... And it's only 3 books and some looseleaf. Then buying drives for extra digital storage... And it becomes way more expensive than if you just kept the paper copy on a bookshelf.
I don’t even read e books that I bought (thankfully not many purchased). Now it has to be important enough to have hard copy or not purchased.
I know this is different and a certification, so I understand why it would be scanned. I am just not a good scanner
I cannot more highly recommend having a Sentimental Declutter Photo Album. I had so many things that I didn't want, but I did want the memory of the person/moment/sentiment. So I took a picture of the thing and made a photo album on Snapfish for $20ish. Christmas cards, birthday cards, mugs, tshirts, knick knacks, items memorializing an important moment, notes from loved ones, large and small gifts that just weren't my style but very lovingly given, etc. Taking the picture and memorializing the sentiment freed me from the guilt of getting rid of the object.
SQUEEEE!!! Girl, you did so good decluttering this bin! You made some hard, but good decisions! I was cheering for you the entire time! ❤❤❤ I can't wait for Sentimental Items Bin #2!
Never clicked so fast, love these videos and all your positive vibes !!
Thank you!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Keep those love notes! My grandparents enjoyed looking back at their love letters when they pulled out albums to show me.
My Nanny passed away in October last year and when we were clearing her house, we found 50 years worth of valentines card that her and my grandad had sent each other. It was so lovely to look back and read them!
I love the approach of "what will I keep" instead of "what can I get rid of."
I can't believe how much stuff you have gotten rid of. When I first started watching you you're going through your basement in your other house with all that stuff that made me feel anxious you you have done an awesome job.
I have a small memory closet for all things sentimental. If you don’t have a closet available you could put storage shelves in your garage to hold all your labeled bins. I would recommend 1 or no more than 2 for each kid because they will most likely not want the stuff when they move. The way I do cards is each of us gets 1 small shoebox size for cards and my husband and I have 1 small/medium box for our cards and any other memory things we want to keep from our relationship that we might not otherwise display in our home. When the boxes get full, we have to go through and revisit which cards we want to keep. Any cards that only have a signature are easy to let go of and save the ones with more sentimental meaning.
I love this idea for cards my one small box is starting to overflow with cards as I have just been sticking all of them i there. Thank you!
@@naomilindstedt6271 you are so welcome! Happy decluttering :)
I bought a pretty photo box at Michaels and I keep all the cards and letters from my husband in it. They live in a drawer in my bedroom so that I can add to it when needed. Also, when he drives me crazy, I can grab it and read a few of the cards and remember that he really is a keeper!
You’re doing great, friend! ❤️ Just think how much easier your next move will be!
Thanks Colleen!
I plan on tackling sentimental after we move. I think I’m going to gather everything from each category separately and just choose my favorite one thing. Like all of the stuff from my grandma, then choose my favorite. Then get everything from my grandpa and choose my favorite. Etc, etc. then I’ll have my very favorite things from each person/time.
You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to the sentiment declutter mini series!
I have been dying to see this
Decluttering sentimental is so hard! My mom passed away 3 years ago and after she died I hung on to a lot of her stuff! Over the last couple years I gradually got rid of most of it, and just kept a few special items ❤ I've always been more of a minimal person (without even realizing it) and my mom was always someone who wanted to keep everything! So it was tough! Watching you part with the graduation plaque brought back a lot of memories of decisions I had to make! Way to go! You're doing great 🥰
Yay!!! The sentimental has started!!! I find this the hardest category so I’m excited to watch as it will inspire me!
I donated family sentimental items to a thrift store where all money goes to various charities. Made me feel good that items were sold to others who love and use them and money went to charities. Reading the Swedish Death Cleaning book helped me make tough decisions.
I love your getting in the zone talk through in the beginning! That is extremely helpful to see the process. You can do it!!!!
Your video was so inspiring. I can identify with your emotions. Having the opportunity to live in a minimalist house for three weeks was your life changing event.
My own life changing event was later in life when I became an empty nester and decided to move to a small apartment. I went on Pinterest for ideas , I was always buying things to store stuff.... then I happened upon UA-cam minimalist videos. Everything reversed. Instead of buying things, I gave things away, had garage sales, donated antiques to our library for their annual auction, donated to charities and the Salvation Army. I embraced the minimalist attitude.
When moving, I envisioned were each thing would go, if it wasn’t going to have a home, it wasn’t going to live here.
In science you learn that a gas will occupy the whole space, no matter the size. That’s how I related to stuff. If I shopped and brought stuff in it would keep occupying my space, I didn’t want that. I am very selective in what comes into my home, I organize things, which I happily keep reorganizing. It entertains me. I constantly purge stuff. I am at a peaceful time in my life and in a peaceful place.
I hope the best for you in your journey. It took me three years to declutter and be ready to move. The journey is the adventure. Enjoy the journey.
To have that many boxes of sentimental items shows you are very cherished and loved. As someone who hasn’t many sentimental items or holds objects sentimentally it is interesting to watch your process & You did a great job Erica! Dealing with that first box was the hardest step. 24 boxes to go. You got this x
If you have the room in your basement, separate all those boxes into categories, and after this initial declutter, you can tackle them again, knowing exactly how much of that category you have, and more easily reducing similar/duplicate items. Recently did this with a client with sentimental. It is a tough category regardless of how you approach it. I admire your approach! I recommend your channel to all my clients!
Omgosh I am so going thru this. I just moved after 40 years. I have a sentimental hoard of my grandmother's my Mom's and mine. Oh and I now have no garage!! Thank you for the encouragement.
Oh my goodness! You did it Erica! Doing a happy dance with you! If it's not too late maybe you could take a picture of the frame and the note that your mom gifted you before you throw it out?
Yes!!!!!! I have been waiting for this video!
RESPECT
Thank you. I have been a "collector" of beautiful detritus for probably 35 years. Oddities trash-picked or saved from the landfill during dumpster dives or scored at thrift-shops and flea markets. I was/ am a clotheshorse --- shoes are a particular weakness--- and I have apparel and even some footwear that go back to my college days. I am a gentleman, ahem..of a certain age and, historically, have a pattern of gaining , then losing ,50 pounds every 7 or 8 years so the sizes in my wardrobe span from 32 inch to 40 inch waist and, obviously, at any moment only a certain percentage of what I own could be worn. I have enough books to open a library and magazines dating back to 1985. I purchased all the cd's for the well- known restaurant where I tended bar from 1985 to 1998. And I could go on and on.... I, too, have indulged a love affair with "stuff" and have bristled at the characterization of me as a hoarder. I have no children, the Smithsonian is unlikely to vy with the Met or the Victoria and Albert museum for my things and I certainly remember the law of diminishing returns from Econ 101 : so the more I own of anything, the less I can enjoy any of it.
The folly/ lunacy of continuing down this path has become crystal-clear this past year when I down-sized from my 1800 sq.foot home of 27 years to a 565 sq.foot apartment and found myself nearly buried alive by my " treasures" and. panic attacks curtailed my efforts to divest of them. So instead, I paid movers, and monthly rent on storage spaces. Each time I bring home boxes and bins in an effort to reduce the expense that I cannot afford and insist on attempting to make it all fit before undertaking any sort of triage my anxiety and shame build.
I recently learned of Swedish Death cleaning and your advice to shift mindset, framing the challenge as "what to keep" versus feeling it is about loss or having to give things up is the simplest, most brilliant tip. I have been holding myself back from living my best life by expending all my energy on this chaos. Let the journey begin!
Thank you. Very inspiring.
I got tearful with you about the cuckoo clock. I had one as a child with exactly the same blue bird. I would love to still have it, the sound of the cuckoo is so precious to me. I’m so happy you saved it. It’s beautiful. You did sooooo well!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
My favorite part was the end. Celebrate the victory, then ..."back to work"
You don't have to get there all in one go. It gets easier to get rid of sentimental over time...... do another pass a year from now..... also a good excuse to look through the memories and enjoy them!
I love going back through my sentimental items!
Oh, Erica. Listening to the joy in your voice when you accomplished your task was priceless. I am so happy for you. I keep all the cards my husband and I exchange. I write the date on the back and separate them with ribbons. So, Mother’s Day has a pink ribbon, Valentine’s Day has a red ribbon, etc. As for adding to a landfill. I know. But, your home is not a landfill. Unfortunately, almost everything we buy will end up in a landfill. You can’t change the past purchases. But you are making great, lasting changes today. That’s the best any of us can do.
Your doing a great job, Erica! STOP feeling guilty for moving on. Our lives grow, change, get better & we can move on. It's not a bad thing... it's life. Your doing it
You did so well! Seeing the tears in yours eyes meant you kept the one thing from that bin that really mattered to you.
Some of the sentimental looses some of the emotional attachment and that can help a lot.
I used to have lots of these bins, but when in doubt I took pics of every item and then put them back in a bin. Would find myself returning to specific pics and delete others. That would help me while decluttering those sentimental bins. You did so well on your first bin 👍👍👍
I'm also proud of you as well for going through that bin ( and on to the next one- very soon 😊) and you were very practical about your sentimental things, so that's awesome!!🥰👏
That was fantastic Erica! I love how you re-enforced your "I can do this! I just did it!" self-esteem boost.
Most of the decor in my house ended up coming from my sentimental piles. I love that you are going to decorate with the clock from your dad.
I'm also impressed that you decided to face the sentimental... I definitely would have done picture frames and then meandered into holiday decor before peeking into a sentimental box. You're awesome!!
Super proud of you, Erica!!!! I cried with you when you were holding the graduation frame. If at some point you get to a point the sentimental is too painful to sort for what to keep and what to part with, start separating into large, broad categories such as pictures, knickknacks, trash, etc. You will have made progress especially for knowing what is in the bins. Plus, I suspect when you see everything in a group together, it will be easier to pare down that category. Sending you big hugs!!!
Trust me, as someone who has recently dealt with the death of my husband's parents. Just get rid of anything you aren't absolutely sure you want to keep. Your kids do not want to deal with it. I promise.
You worked through that bin like a boss!💪Cheering you on as you continue to tackle the difficult task of decluttering sentimental items. 👊
When I struggle to let go of sentimental stuff, like this example with graduation letter from your mom, I take pictue with my phone of it, and then I let it go.
Very emotional for me watching you going
through your emotional things.. as I was therr with you and these were mine things:))
You got me teary-eyed, too. I used to have a number of music boxes. Still have a carousel horse one that my dad bought me. Go you on going through that box. You’re inspirational! I’m going to rewatch this when I finally tackle my bins of sentimental stuff. ❤️.
Great job! I am so proud of you. You felt the emotions, processed through them, decluttered the unnecessary and saved the truly important.
You did an amazing job, The breaths you took at the end and the smile makes it worth decluttering, physically and mentally.
So Proud of you and for you! One box of Sentimental done! Big accomplishment! I cried and danced with you too. We're here with ya every box at a time!
GO ERICA!
My children are nearing their 30's and my parents are getting older as well. I see the importance of not leaving my children things to discard with apologies like you did! Speaking as a mom I'm sure your mom would want you to be happy letting go, no apology necessary because it lived it's life expectancy. The other beautiful thing about life is that letting go allows new to step in.
Thank you for sharing! I watch your inspiring videos when I get stuck at a crossroads and need to re-examine, ask your questions - do I use, need it, love it .... and finally move forward with a smile!
Looks like your bin was dropped in one of your many moves. So proud of you for purging so much and giving away items. Have a blessed day!
Erica, thanks for taking us on this journey and being vulnerable with your sentimental items. I am down to sentimental also and I now feel like I can tackle it! Thank you and looking forward to seeing the rest of your sentimental declutter.
This declutter video really made me emotional. I just wanted to hug you. I decluttered most of my childhood belongings, photos and nicknacks. I also have depression. During my declutter it really messed me up. I fully went down hill with my depression after it got rid of it all. I’m still glad I did it, but it’s very difficult to become minimal when you have depression. Mind you, it’s very freeing to not have the piles and piles and plastic boxes surrounding you. You are amazing 🤩💓❤️🤍🧡💙💚💜🤗
Erica the fact that sentimental things mean so much to you is a testament to your personality and heart. I could see when you held that graduation frame from your mum that you were back in the memory of that time and the love and pride your mum felt. It was like you took us there too. x Well done on being able to let these things go. Not having the item doesnt mean the memory, or the love it represents, is lost xxx Cheering for you as you carry on with this task!
-dances about you joyously- Yay! I love that you're getting those things you love together to take care of them and keep them precious. Yay you! Go you - go-you - go you!
My daughter and I were cheering for you the whole way thru! So happy for you!🥲
So proud of you! Thank you for sharing your journey. I am also on the journey toward simplifying and decluttering years and years of stuff. I've been married as long as you've been alive and just learned something about my husband that I didn't know. About a month into my decluttering, he said, "But I like stuff." Wait. What? I had told him I was going to be getting rid of things and he said okay. I guess reality hit. So, I assured him he could still have stuff, but maybe we can not have it spread out everywhere. My tendency was to box and hide. His is to leave it out on every surface, including the floor. I told him I'm just focusing on my boxes and bins. I would never throw out someone else's stuff. I wouldn't want someone else deciding for me what to let go of and when. It's a process and it's personal.
You have permission to put all the things in the landfill. Moving forward you can be earth conscious. I have been following you for a while and you have come so far! You got this!
Great job Erica!
I balled my eyes out for 3 hours when I was decluttering sentimental stuff moving out of my parents home. You do got this! It’s tough bringing all these emotions and memories to the surface all at once, but once you’ve worked through it you’ll feel so much lighter. I’ve also noticed reduced guilt because I don’t have precious things locked away in a box.
I've gotta say, I absolutely love watching these videos. I love seeing the absolute joy on your face when you realized you've accomplished a difficult task and it really keeps me going.
Yaaas, items don’t hold memories, you do. This rings especially true when you have it in a box and never look at it. What is with this guilt that no one puts on us except ourselves? It’s ridiculous.
You did great! I would keep one music box from Grandma. The bunny one could go with Easter and you could think of Grandma every year when you pull it out to decorate. Sentimental is the hardest!
I'm so pumped for this series of declutter. It's the nitty-hritty tough clutter!
Wow, Erica! Great start!!!! This is the hardest category for a reason. It's really tough, but you can do it. Ask the right questions and keep your goals in mind, and I know you'll make amazing progress. I know other commenters have mentioned, but it helps to remember that you can do multiple sweeps, letting go more each time. It doesn't have to be everything all at once. I did a look-through of my sentimental box, and let go of one or two things a year ago. I think it's time to go through it again with fresh eyes and a year's more wisdom. Thanks for the inspiration!
That wsterglobe at the beginning, I cut my knee on one of those and had 6 stiches. Deep cut. You did an amazing job!! So proud of you!!
Wow! You sure did it! That bin had a lot. You left me intrigued. I can’t wait to see your other videos. Tip: hole punch the cards from your husband put in a ring to keep them together. For you not to feel so guilty trashing the graduation frame, tell mom the other things you have kept given from her since you kept the item from dad. Have a trash bag to immediately put the trash in the trash bag. A bag for donation.
Well done! :D you did amazing in sorting that bin I remember tackling sentimental myself and it is hard! You are definitely doing it the right way I downsized sentimental several times before realising I could have done it in one go if I had really been stricter. Now my sentimental is like it's photos notes from friends and family and items which I display in the house. You've got this!
Awww, Erica, you made me tear up. I'm not nearly as sentimental and you are... but being on this journey with you, I know this is the stuff that hits you hard. Sending you a glass of virtual champaign 🥂,
Probably the best way to inspire a more streamlined life, is to imagine moving it all by yourself. I am happy that the Navy provides the service to you, it should. I think you are doing really well in your very inspiring journey, keep up the great work!
12:45 I love how the music came in while you were thinking about what to do with the graduation frame from your mom. It reminded me of Jeopardy!
Erica, I find that taking a picture of a sentimental item still brings back those same memories without keeping the item.
Amazing! I love the idea of moving most of your sentimental stuff upstairs to join your life. Cuckoo clock on the wall will be great!
Omg that app looks great! I should use it for German. 😂
You will be so glad to keep those letters from your husband. Those are more than memories.
How about making a collage of the love notes and framing them in a frame you already have. Then hanging it in your bedroom for you both too enjoy.😎👍
Take pictures of items. That’s what I did. It’s the memory sometimes. But I know some things are just not leaving!
I started tearing up when you said there was a note from your mom on the back!! Good job getting through the whole bin Erica!
I just found your channel today through Minimal Mom. I am literally decluttering with you today. (Well with your videos anyway). I used to live minimally before and it was so amazing, but life happened and, you know, here I am with loads of stuff again. I can't wait to get back to a state of minimalist living again. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your decluttering journey. Its helping me so much. THANK YOU!
Always remember how much more you will be able to cherish those memories when you have fewer boxes that you could actually go through when you feel like it. Right now it's to much to appreciate it and it's only causing you stress. Do it for you and your memories that deserve to be special and not just a pile of stuff. You are doing great :-)
This, you, are so relatable. 🌸
I really follow you through the motions and emotions, that overwhelming sense of it all being to much to handle, and also guilt for not wanting items anymore that were given to us. Go Erica! 👏👏👏
Loved this! Always excited to see your declutter videos!
Omg you did so well!!! It's always the first that is the hardest 😊
Yayyyyy!!! Great job, Erica!!! Please keep sharing your progress, we are right here with you all the way!!! 💞
Totally relate to this video Erica, this is where we are too. I'm halfway through a photo album project (I started it last April) with all my/my sister's childhood photos. I've gone through them roughly by year and gotten rid of duplicates (or similar ones, and pictures of stuff like gifts from birthdays- I keep the ones with people!). It is so draining on my mind and emotions. I know it'll look great when they're all transferred to these uniform albums I bought with areas for notes on the side, but it is hard to chip away at. When I'm finally done I hope to scan all of them and put them on a Cloud and an external hard drive, then get started on an album for my husband. He was gifted a few boxes of loose photos, and I want to scan those for him and make him an album too. Then later I'll have to do something with our photos from about 2013- now.
Well done. You did great!
Don't stress about the trash. It was already trash whether it is in your home or the landfill. Everything will eventually be trash. The only thing you can do (which you are already doing) is to not bring more into your home.
You did it woohoo 🎉🎉
Well done! I have my sentimental items in one bin about the size you emptied today. I scanned lots of things and took photos of many items also. It made it much easier to let things go knowing I have the images. I actually doubt I’ll ever look at them though.