Thank you so much for watching! Here are links mentioned in this video: Minimalism Back to Basics Playlist: cli.re/BASICS Let it Go Book: amzn.to/3OruOYH Large Chalk Labels: amzn.to/3OlQJR4 Chalk Pens: amzn.to/3DOxNpq Photo Boxes: amzn.to/45eKVzA Have a great day! - Dawn
I did a memory box for my two older kids who are now twenty five and twenty seven. My heart was broken when they opened it up. Took a quick look and said oh, Yeah neat. Neither of them wanted anything! They are both totally different kids, and one of them is even sentimental and had no desire to have anything out of the box. 😢 I am letting my now 14 year old do his own box.
This one hits right at the heart of a good part of my clutter problems. Family historian. That was my mother, doing all the ancestry things since before Ancestry was a thing. Along with all the printed records she had, Mom inherited alllll the photos from both sides of the family, plus a a ton from Aunts and Great Aunts who had no children to leave their memories to. That doesn’t mean my mother was neat and organized and had everything sorted through. On the contrary, she brought boxes home from every parent or grandparent that had passed, and they were still in the same boxes they got packed in 30 years before. When mom passed, I was designated the next family historian by my four siblings that didn’t want to deal with it. 63 boxes came home with me and lived in my guest bedroom and garages for a number of months before I finally tackled them, Months of walking into my guest room, turning around and closing the door because of the overwhelm, I told myself “Just one box today’. That got me mentally through some of the overwhelm. Treasures were found buried away in those boxes, family bibles, pictures more than 150 years old, scrapbooks with photos glued in from around 1910-1930, my grandmother’s pearls! And as mentioned by several people, all the cards from every birthday or holiday from everyone of her 5 kids. Haha! I got the boxes down from 63 to 6, which have sat for the last two years stashed in a few places. Mostly binders and binders of historical records that mom had gathered before the internet was a thing. After watching Dawns videos which I find so helpful, I thought I could just toss most of them, but nope! More discoveries were made. More 100 year old photographs were found, typed pages of interviews she had done with relatives before they passed. Copies of several letters from a gggreat grandfather to his wife in the 1860’s. Stories she typed out that she had heard and remembered. I thought all this information would be on Ancestry, and that I would be able to toss most of this paper, but after looking up several of the ancestors, I found that almost none of it was there I feel that I have gotten the encouragement I need from Dawns videos to power through. I had already started going through the saved things from my kids childhood’s, and like many of you have said, they don’t want that old artwork and don’t remember it, so it’s gone. Goodwill has been seeing me on a weekly basis for the donate things. As far as being the family historian, it’s a tough position, but I feel with these guidelines and suggestions I can figure that out too.
I am also a family historian type. I know that things are coming. I look at the photos with my Grandma, she tells me who people are and where they lived. It is my great hope to scan (or photograph with a phone) many of these items, create a book that can be printed multiple times and sent to interested family members, and then pair down to only the most gem items. Some of those photos we don't exactly know who those folks are, and its not like there will be anyone capable of identifying them. A collage in the back of the printed pages should suffice as "mystery ancestors". I survived a large fire that burned a lot of my community, and its changed the way I think about a lot of sentimental photographs. If its truly sentimental, you want to get it on a modern, digital format and dispersed as your physical copies, PC, flash drives etc could be lost in an instant.
@@harrymyhero yep, for the most part, however, I was shocked when my mom passed, how much that the grandkids DID take, including my youngest who wanted her great grandmothers sewing machine in its own little cabinet. This daughter is truly my only minimalist child, so I was surprised.
Every day or so, I try to write down a sweet or funny memory of my toddler. Reading the past memories can conjur up the images I need so I don't have to necessarily save the actual objects. Plus, a notebook is very compact which is nice!
I actually have something similar. I have a tiny flat journal which kindergarten teachers has written very short entrys about me during that time, for example what I did, how I reacted to stuff, when they went somewhere and what I did etc. It is so fun to actually be able to read about my time in kindergarten which I don't remember as much from. It is a tiny journal that don't take up much space and I am going to keep that forever. I am a very quiet and reserved person, was even more silent during kindergarten and almost didn't speak. I have found out that I even learned sign language for some words to be able to communicate! So cool to read about.
I love the idea of only keeping happy memories!! Never realized how much of the sentimental items I have bring up so much sadness! I genuinely thought that was the idea of an item being sentimental, bc it reminds us of loved ones who have passed…but the encouragement to let go of these things once and for all, to say goodbye to the hurt feelings that WE attach to the specific item, and only keep the happy memories gives me strength to go through the rest of my garage totes!!! Thank you Dawn ❤️
I have a lot of '"sad" sentimental items. I have gotten rid of a lot. My oldest son had severe medical issues since 1 month old. Some of the things I kept that have memories are medical records and nurses notes....He has been gone for almost 6 years now. He was 31 when he passed.Even photos of our "happiest times" with him are sad.,
@@beachprints ouch..this breaks my heart...I can't even imagine your loss...I hope you will find peace as your navigate your loss, however long that may take and find joy in life again..big hugs. I wonder what Dawn will say about these photos...Maybe store it away for now? Sending love.
My mom passed away 2-2-22 and I have been slowly going through her keepsakes this year as an only child. I'm thankful I started watching your videos long before this life changing event bc my natural instinct used to be to keep everything sentimental. Now I tell myself just bc something was sentimental to her doesn't mean it has to be sentimental to me. She kept reports she wrote in elementary school (which I read and enjoyed then threw away) and EVERY birthday card she received since she was 6 years old (which I also enjoyed reading and either offered to the originally giver or threw away.) I have started a box of pictures from her high school years and memorabilia to take to her school's next all school reunion so the people I don't know in all those photos can have them 💜
I also used to keep every card and letter I ever received. They filled two boxes. I am almost finished sorting through the first box. I found a check my dad wrote me when I was in college for $200...dated around 1991!
@@dianeleslie671You can take digital pictures of the actual things, or even physical photos, and get rid of originals. I did that with a lot of kid’s artwork.
After watching you for a couple years I think. I have not one sentimental bone left in my body. I don’t care I have the memory, and no one will want it when I’m gone so it will be tossed anyway. Sad but true. I may have kept a few things lol. But not enough to fill a box. So thank you!
I've come to feel the same way about anything material ever since Dawn looked into the camera and said flatly "It's just stuff!" It's the people and relationships, the projects and goals, our inner peace and spirituality, that matter in our lives.
@@lifewithlarsandsusie8315 I agree. And more important (to me) is i don't want to be a gift receiver! Trying to get others to REALLY believe that has been a bit challenging.
Thanks for sharing your life here on yt❤. I saved my sons babyclothes. (He is 32 now😊). I had a quilt made out of al the babystuff of him. A babyquilt! So now he is getting a son and I will hand him his babclothesblanket. Felt really good like this.
I have finished homeschooling 3 of my 4 children and decided to go through the last 17 years of their schoolwork I had kept in the attic. I asked them if they wanted any of it, they said "No," so I bravely threw all of it in recycling. I let myself have a little cry, but I am so proud of myself. 😊 Thank you for your encouragement.
My kids didn’t want any of their childhood books either; both bedtime read-aloud and school historical novels etc. It was difficult but I picked out what I called my grandma books and gave all of the rest away. Strangely my grandchildren live too far away for me to read any of my grandma books to them. So I think I’ll read them to myself as I slip into my second childhood.
Read them in a video on your phone and send it to your children to play for your grandchildren. These will be special memories for them. @@angelacross2216
@angelacross2216 I have kept books for my future grandchildren also. I kept the ones I thoroughly enjoyed reading to my children and some of my books from my own childhood.
I’m a quilter, and recently have made several quilt tops that I do not intend to complete. So my daughter’s library once a year has a arts and craft sale to raise money for the library. So I am donating 9 quilt tops, 60 blocks to be put together, and two completed wall hangings. They are just taking up space in my home. It’s for a good cause, and someone else will like to complete so they can donate to a charity.
@@ninadukette3340 just going to spend the money to finish. Batting, backing etc. I did the hard work now let someone else finish. I’m trying to use fabric stash I have will never get through it in my life time I’m 72 .
I have asked my sons what they want to keep. My special is not necessarily their special. I'm also being mindful of the fact that they will not want my grandparents old dishes (that frankly have sat in a box in the basement for years). They are enjoying doing this and having a say in this process.
I'm a 'saver' (raised by a hoarder, who lived through the Great Depression). Thankfully, I had enough insight that I saved only a sampling of my most meaningful school papers (1 apple box, including a couple academic trophies I had won) when I moved on to college. I also gave each of my children (mostly homeschooled) a plastic tote as 'saving box' for items they chose to keep, rotating out for space as time passed. (I allowed myself a Memory box for special things they didn't keep, or had gifted me.) I didn't save their clothes, only a couple special blankets/afghans. Since we moved several times, this limited space constraint really helped! Sadly, much of this stuff (stored in an attic when we moved out of state) was damaged by moisture/ mold (even in plastic totes and 🤷♀️)...but I was sadder than the kids about losing it. Interestingly, the youngest son is a Minimalist (why I started learning about it, and following Dawn 😉), the other 3 are still accumulating stuff. I'm struggling with books. I keep 2 shelves of various age/subject materials as I do still tutor (which also serves as eventual grandkid material). But it's harder to give up my "resources" (self-help, counseling, gardening, herbal remedies), as well as books I have collected that I actually want/intend to read "someday". (Online audio/ebook availability--esp Hoopla, where it's free--has helped, but not all are available.) I'm working toward a 'lending library' where I can share w/others and still keep access myself.
I found the photos to be especially overwhelming until I let go of trying to put them in chronological order. I sorted them by person or family and worked on it just 15 minutes at a time. I found that a loose-leaf binder with pocket photo pages that accommodate various sizes was an invaluable tool. I sorted more than once, each time throwing more photos away.
"Not worrying about chronological order is a game changer! When my parents passed away, I had boxes and boxes of photo envelopes to go through (mom was one of those "3 copies of everything" people). I got 1 Large photo album, holds like 200 4x6s and maybe 50 5x7s, and I started to separate by person. Then I just started sticking the ones I wanted to keep in, in no particular order. I'm not an overly sentimental person, but now when I run into a picture i want, it just goes in on the next available page.
@@deniseharwood9521 Yes yes. Has saved space, time and head aches. After trying to organize my photos decided to consolidate in two pretty boxes. I enjoy my photos more often these days. Searching for something specific like high school friends, passed away family member, or holiday celebration is even easier this way, too. Now I know where to place the wayward photos I discover in files and piles.
@@deniseharwood9521 My basement is finished beautifully by my husband. Once filled with teenagers hanging out, it is now my sewing studio. About 10 days ago, we started cleaning it out, donating, and painting and reorganizing the storeroom under the stairs. While glancing thru the photo albums, I realized how dumb some of the pics are. I started pitching a lot of them. Now I am looking for a local company who will put them on a thumb drive or something digital. Think of the space that will save. and such a gift for my kids of their childhood in pictures!
Katrina here 😅... I had a jumper that was my mums , she passed 2017 . I dont wear it much, I thought I lost it about 4 yrs ago and add a near melt down. Im actually in complex grief ATM from my husband of 36yrs. Yesterday I lost mums jumper and you know what it was like oh well. She would of bought it from a thrift store , i never saw her wear it and it really wasnt worth stressing over it . Literally, let it go . Theres a reason for everything . Decided not to beat myself over my widow brain and give myself some grace.
I just today donated the artwork of my parents. I am still cleaning out the attic after their passing. I still feel some guilt after doing this, but they would be laying there so…let it go. It is a whole and heavy process for me but almost there 🙌 Watching your videos give me motivation to keep hoing 🙏
And when you pass on stuff to your kids, let them know that they can do whatever they want with it, even if that means it gets chucked in the bin. My mother was devastated that I didn't want the dress from my first birthday party, or the outfit I came home from hospital in, but those are her memories, not mine. I was far more interested in the things that I could remember using or being given. I have a few baby photos of myself, but most of my childhood sentimental items date from ages 5/6 and older, because those have real meaning for me. The one item I still have from my birth is the teddy I was given by a distant relative, but he was my constant companion until I was about 10, and he appears in so many photos that he's almost like one of the family!
Removing photos from albums, editing them and putting them in a box is fantastic in reducing the volume. I have always had a memory box for my now adult son, since he was born. I edit it every few years, as what seemed important before changes, but 'the outfit worn home from the hospital' will always makes the cut. I totally agree with displaying and using cherished items. Inherited things you don't love are best sold, and buy something you love with the money. For anyone who struggles to let go of lots of baby clothes could make a memory bear with the material from the clothes, rather than keeping it all. My number one decluttering motivation is I don't want my stuff to be a burden and I appreciate your reminder x
PSA for anyone.... Take pictures of people.... Not places. People can be in front of places in the background... but one thing I've noticed going through it is the random crappy pictures of things I have no clue what or why I took a picture box it. Like some signs you can't read or a washington monument that is grainy and out of focus. The ones with the people are the best ones.
IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE IN THE PHOTOS!!! There's nothing more frustrating about old family photos than not knowing who these people are! Not that I don't want the photos, but without names, they are just antique store "instant family" images.
On the same note: Please make a note who that baby or toddler is. I have no idea how my siblings and cousins looked like when they were small, let alone my aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents.
I would add, don't just identify them as "Grandma and Grandpa"! How will the person looking at them 50 years in the future know whose grandma and grandpa they're looking at? Write the full name of each person, and even birth and death dates if there are similarly named people in the family. -Signed, A Family Historian 😀
And if Grandma and Grandpa are standing in front of their house in the photo, give the street address and name of the town if possible. -Signed, A Local Historian
YES!! Yes to all these replies. My husbands parents have thinned through ALL their photos (What a task!!!) and they have divided photos up into giant envelopes for each of their grown children AND all the photos of of their parents/grandparents etc is labeled on the back with full names, who they are and what they were called. They are leading me by example of how I’d like to prepare things for my children as a get older.
Super useful as always. We've printed and framed a few exceptional travel photos and made (so far) one photo book of long ago trips instead of storing boxes and boxes of mediocre photos. It personalises our home and reduces our inventory of stored photos.
I just wanted to say "Thank you!" for addressing the photo's issue. I not only have my own photo's of my Family that I need to go thru, but I have inherited generations of photo's from my Mother's Home. It amazes me going thru them how many "bad" photo's were still kept! I am now resolved to make photo albums for each of my Children, myself, and one for my Mother's photo's and give away the rest. I watch you and your Sister Diana on UA-cam. As well as purchasing your Declutter book. Thank you both for all the inspiration!
I have been going through things for a couple of years and continue to do so. It makes me feel good that I will not be leaving boxes of items for my adult children to go through. I don't want those things to be a burden to me, presently, or to them in the future. I struggle with the photos that my in-laws left, so have made a point to sort through our family pictures, placing and labeling what remains in a limited number of albums. Family members go through what I am discarding and take what they would like. I also delete the digital form of whatever pictures we are not keeping. Thank you for saying it is ok to get rid of things that bring up bad memories. I have applied that to pictures. Less stuff means more time to make new memories and more space in the house allows my husband more room to get around with his walker. Thank you and the best to you and your family.
I'm glad I seen this video when I did I just went through the 2 big totes I had saved of baby toys and clothes I wanted to keep ( thought I would forever) but surprisingly it was easy to let go and gift 90% of it. Thankyou for this video
Hi. I am in my 60s and my four children are now adults, they all don’t want anything that are in the boxes of baby memories or the art work that I kept. They said those are your memories Mom, you keep it or get rid of it when you want. Unlike you, we did not bring them out to look in them periodically, maybe that would have made a difference 🤷🏼♀️ Thank you for the video, will try and find Peters book to read.
My 2nd daughter was prem, I was so blessed to be given clothes from others family n friends baby's. I've always kept those but only a few their support and experience made me strong. I can very happily say my baby is 15 2inch taller than me and awesome. But I will always appreciate th support they gave me ❤❤
love ya Dawn! just spent the day decluttering my partner's stuff - YES!!! I've got him on board! I'm SO relieved, he had so much stuff! such a big win. I found myself teaching him so many ideas I've learned from YOU! :)
Wow! I literally took a bag of baby clothes to the donation center today. My youngest is 22 🙄. The boys really don’t care about their coming home from the hospital clothes. Or MY favorite shortalls they wore. Let someone else enjoy them!
I inherited some of my grandmother's old silverware and it sat in the cupboard forever. So decided to clean it up, separate what I needed and give the rest to my younger brother. Now it gets used every day.
This was so helpful. I've been on the hunt for informative videos about decluttering sentimental items, and I haven't found much! I think people skip over this area, and that's why I don't see a lot of content. Thanks for tackling it.
Appreciate this! I've found it helpful to take photos of certain sentimental items I don't use so I can keep the memory while letting the actual object bless someone else. A single photo of a bedspread or table full of items can be a treasure trove of memories. Works for multiple photos too. ❤
I sorted 20 years of photos v fast by having 2 boxes, small and big, and throwing into the big all of the ones that were not interesting, or made me feel sad or bad. There must have been 5000 and it only took me a few hours. I then cut up all the ones I wanted to keep so they didn’t take up much space and stuck them in a scrapbook. Easy to flick through and my family and friends have laughed at the fashions and hairstyles 😂 Soooo good to get rid of so much rubbish, and have a meaningful end result.
I think the sentimental box should be just for you, limited items that make you happy, but not pass the box to someone else because those items may not mean anything for others, at least that happened to me with things, photos my mother gave me, I just returned them because those were not really my memories
This video couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Cleaning out my parents’ house, and there are boxes and boxes of things that they saved from childhood. Even though I’ve watched so many of your videos and have very minimal things in my own home, I have had trouble letting go of these things from the past. This video confirms it’s the right decision. I am also ordering the book. Thank you so much for helping me through this difficult stage of my life!!
Thank you. I have decluttered my sewing fabric (not sentimental items, I know). I got rid of twelve big bags of fabric that I did not want, was overwhelmed to the point I stopped learning to sew. I used all your tips and I am now excited to sew again. I am saving the sentimental things for last. Thanks again and have a nice day.
I have let go of a lot of sentimental items recently. After my mom tried to give me some items and I realized I didn’t want them, I have changed my mindset. I also had some items from my grandparents that I let go of after I realized that item is not the person and I wasn’t using the items.
I’ve been talking with my husband about this as he’s been going through his father’s estate. We didn’t keep a lot, but what we did is displayed nicely or in his memory box.
I use my hope chest to put my memories in. My daughter mentioned her hope chest when she was in college and most of the kids had never heard of one before. My daughter said the teacher had her tell everyone about the purpose of hope chest. She said "mom I thought everyone had one" 😂
For me, taking digital pictures of "not used" sentimental items was a wonderful way to let go of them! Now, I can visit that item any time I want w/o pulling out a box. As well, I asked for a blessing upon the next owner. ♡
I'm pretty sentimental naturally so I do actually like and have memories in boxes. I appreciate this video and intend to use it to recalibrate my own situation. .but I keep thinking that some of us have a much deeper problem than these tools can solve. I'm going to revisit the Peter Walsh book and also bring up in therapy of course. In my case I don't have kids or any nephews nieces or cousins that may be interested. One cousin gave me giant totes of photos of our grandparents some are over 100 years old. So I have already rough sorted the photos to what I think are the best and I am looking into options for the next phase. In my case memory boxes are broken down by generation. Boxes for memories of my life, boxes for parents, boxes for grandparents. I think I have 5 or 6 total. It's more than the table top can hold. 😂 Whenever I have tried to reduce this amount down I get stuck from decluttering at all. Yes can I decide but those decisions are final and these things are irreplaceable. Memories are a different part of the brain, and it does feel physically bad to imagine parting with some of it. I have regrets of items I parted with from this type of clutter when I ignored those feelings. So the answer for me is a slow purge..... I focus on what I can do. I can basically sort and look for trash. I can see what little things feel okay to have less of. I've narrowed down letters to the best letters to keep from each person, but yet I like keeping my yearbooks for example. I kept only the 2 most sentimental concert tshirts out of a dozen, I am wearing my 50 year old scholls sandals round the house, and I use old rulers my grandmother used at her drafting job. That's where I am currently.
My middle monkey is a huge artist and is legitimately a good artist. So good that I’ve framed some of his work and use it as art on my walls. His pictures of robots and other things I put in frames in his room. When he makes a new picture and wants it framed we shift our old artwork and put new in and he can decide if he wants to keep the old picture or if he can let it go.
Comment about the baby clothes: I saved just a few of my favorite items so the inventory wasn't an issue. However, my daughter (now 8) LOVES baby dolls. She saved her money ($40 on Amazon) and bought a "real-looking" baby doll, and I gifted her the baby clothes for June. She was soooo thrilled, and it made my mama heart happy to see her happy once again using the clothes that gave me so many memories 💖
I am in my 70"'s and never look at photos or sentimental things. I tried going through old photos and my husband cried like a baby over looking at them because it made him so sad that those times are over.
Bless your sweet husband. I’m 53, and married almost 30 years. I’ve never been able to watch the videos from our wedding because so many of the people we loved are gone. I don’t watch videos of our now-grown daughters either. Sigh…Sometimes memories are just better off in our hearts.
@@kateyare4708 that is sad. Photos and memorabilia make me happy. But videos hit a little different for some reason. Maybe I’ll understand what the older generation feels when I get there too. ❤️
That’s exactly how I am too. I literally cry because what I consider the happiest, best, times of my life are over. It hits me really hard looking at them. I wish I knew how to look at photos and smile and feel happiness, but it just doesn’t work that way for me. It’s close to being excruciatingly painful.
As someone who's still closer to kid age than parent age, I had a thought on memory boxes - kids won't remember their baby clothes. Parents may find swaddling sentimental, but anything they haven't used since before they could walk, they won't remember. Art projects, toys, and books, on the other hand, will likely hold a lot of sentimental value.
Yep my cedar chest my parents gave me has some random baby clothes in it. I'm not even sure they are mine or why I have them LOL! I'm 54. I got rid of most of the stuff my mom saved for me. I kept those school papers for years. Finally I was like why am I keeping any of this??? None of it is important to me but every person is different.
Thanks for this very helpful video Dawn. I was meant to see it this morning. On your recommendation I’ve already done my kids memory boxes, similar size to yours, but have been putting off the dreaded task of a huge chest full of photos so this information is invaluable. You’re a star ⭐️
I have been following for a bit now. I mentioned becoming a minimalist to my husband and he laughed at me. Gave me motivation to keep going as apparently I haven’t gotten rid of enough stuff yet. But I’ve finally gotten my paper litter under control. Memory bins were next for me. I was just trying to decide what size is best for them.
Dear Dawn, thank you for this very clear video! ❤These are the best tips on decluttering sentimental items I have come across. I was so lucky to find your videos around the birth of my first child (My kids are ages 4 and 2 now). They each have a memory box and we kept one box of baby clothes. Although I am not sure where it is, so I should probably declutter my attic some more. 😉 Another tip: if your kids want to throw away something like their artwork that you feel strongly about, you can always put it in your own memory box! I started doing that with some artwork gifts like mothers day gifts that were special, but realized it doesn't have to be limited to that. If your box fills up, you can always decide that it's not worth keeping anymore.
One of the hardest but most impactful things I decluttered was a letter. In grade 12 we had to write a letter to ourselves and our teacher would mail it to us 5 years later. He did, and I hadn't really accomplished anything I'd set out to do. It was very depressing. I had it tucked in my dresser for about 10 years before I finally threw it out
We don’t plan on having anymore babies in our house. I have myself one small tub for things to keep. We have passed on everything else to a local nonprofit that helps expecting mothers. It has felt so good knowing that we are helping someone else. I especially love the thought of another baby enjoying the clothes and things again. I would much rather someone else enjoy it, than it be stored in my attic forever. ❤
I put my children's special drawings and pictures they have made me through the years in scrap books for them and me. I want them to grow up knowing how important those items were for me. I recommend it to anyone to neatly keep them.
Thank you so much for the great video! I inherited all the old photos from the 1920's on up when my mom and dad passed away. There are all kinds of photos of people that I don't know who they are, because my mom wasn't really great at writing on the backs of them, the way my aunt was - too many, I guess. :-) Anyway, now I feel like it's okay to get rid of the ones of the people I don't know and just keep the ones with my mom, dad, and other relatives that I know, and friends listed on them. :-) This video was very freeing!
I love going to estate sales. One thing I have learned is how common it is for people to save their kids baby clothes and how common it is for the family not to want them. There has to be a psychological explanation. If the clothes are in perfect condition they can be sold and sometimes I do. ( I recently bought a pair of original 13:00 Converse gym shoes) . But old cloth diapers or bronze shoes?
Depending on the items, if you don't know anyone who wants them you may find a historical society who will take them. For example my Uncke had a lot from his time in the army. The local VFW was very happy to accept a donation when he was looking to downsize. It meant a lot to him and also to them.
Yes, I am the last in my generation, so I am actively searching out museums and archives that might be interested in some of my family items. I've been amazed at the interest expressed in even quite ordinary letters and diaries from 40-50 years ago!
Dawn, do you have a template of the baby box labels you created? I love them! Also, I've been watching your videos for about 3 years and you've been such an inspiration! Thank you so much for sharing your journey ❤
This is the only area I struggle with. I have totes upon totes of my kids stuff in the attic. I NEED to go through it all and make the memory boxes. It's so difficult.
I’ve saved things I’ve asked my grown kids if the want. They say No. but now I have grandchildren and now my kids ask me. Hey mom do you still have this beanie baby. Or I held on to dog costume she wore every day for a year and now her daughter wears it and loves it. Thankfully I saved it so special.
My mother was the self-appointed family historian and I have 2 large tubs full of binders. Besides the family tree and the usual details one might expect, she was obsessed with recording every detail of her siblings' lives as well as my dad's, mine and my sister's. I have at least 2 binders of my life through high school, every party I was invited to, school programs, etc. She recorded family reunion dates, names and addresses of attendees. Every letter and card ever received. On and on. I would welcome ideas on guidelines for culling this. Other than my own info, somehow I feel I don't have the right to get rid of all this hard work ... even though I know that's not logical. I'm 75, have one daughter, and several grand and great grandkids. I want to pass on the core and most meaningful items.
Can you ask your daughter to go through it and see if she wants anything? If not, a local history society might be interested in the whole archive. That kind of exhaustive detail of everyday life is of huge value to historians.
You might end up with 50 big bins of children's clothes, toys, paperwork, artwork, etc by the time they are young adults, and will probably discover that they do not want it, and may not even want to supervise you deciding what to dispose of on their behalf, so beware of not sorting things down as you go along as they are growing up or you can end up with a huge unwanted collection of your own making. Keep maybe one early outfit and toy, and maybe one example a year of optional paper/artwork. Also, do not mix important things in like identity documents that someone will have to sort piece by piece in a future year. Take it easy on your future self-or whoever will have to make all those delayed decisions-and keep very little.
Suggestions for my husband who has sentimental attachments to broken furniture? Such as a large 1970s overstuffed chair. The legs broke off many years ago, and the bottom of the chair has metal attachment pieces for the legs which are misshapen so we can’t even add legs. Then years ago our cat tore up the arm. He doesn’t want to throw it out, so I’ve put a cover over it. It’s taking up space in a bedroom where I could really use the space. He doesn’t use it. We also have a wooden rocking chair that has been repaired many times, but it’s cheap and now it’s so broken it can’t be repaired. It’s laying in pieces in the garage, but he won’t throw it out. These are just 2 of the many furniture pieces that were hand-me-downs that aren’t very functional, but he has an attachment to them that I don’t understand. I am hoping to downsize in the next 5-10 years, but I’m not sure that is going to be possible.
The fact is adult children can rip your heart out especially with sentimental items. A bit like souvenirs they don’t mean as much to the person who didn’t experience or don’t remember things. You can make a memory box, hand it over then move on as it definitely may not be viewed the same by your adult child or their spouse. Good luck Mamas, it’s tough. ❤
Sentimentals are def the most difficult. After losing all grandparents and then parents, and having one (miracle- due to my own health) child who is now 25, I have a lot of things that I’m holding onto. I finally let go of most of my mom’s clothes (I actually wore a few pieces until menopause weight onset) last year. I don’t have many items that were dad’s and grandparents, but my son’s room is still the same since he moved out 6 years ago. I just can’t seem to change anything about his room … I brought him home from the hospital and raised him in this house. Am I grieving? Maybe I need mental help🤷🏼♀️ I’m not a hoarder and I’ve been minimizing over the past few years (slowly, as time permits). Any tips to help me (emotionally) with minimizing my son’s room so that I might actually use it as a guest room?
Has he left a lot of his personal belongings behind? Maybe you could call him and explain that you'd like to simplify the room a little so that you can use it for guests and can he come buy and pick up some stuff? I know some parents are anxious about making their child feel unwelcome in the family home, but if this stuff was really precious to your son, he would have taken it with him, and it shouldn't be necessary for him to have unwanted stuff stored at your house to make him feel welcome! My parents relocated to a new area a month after I left home, so I didn't have a choice! Not having a 'room of my own' or a load of my stuff in their new house didn't make me feel any less welcome there.
I don't have specific experiences to draw from, because I am 57 and childless (I was the eldest of seven in my family so I do understand some of the nostalgia), but my advice would be to first create an image of in your mind of what you want the guest room to look like and how you want to use it. Take as much time as you need to visualize it and get inspired. If you can get your son to come and help, that would be great. Otherwise, get some good storage boxes and start boxing up his stuff in a careful intelligent way. Label everything for easy access later. Dispose of what you can by donation to someone who would appreciate it. I think if you get the ball rolling, and if you know his cherished things are being stored carefully, and if you start to get a vision of the room as it will be when it's fresh and different, it won't be so hard. I daresay he doesn't really want to go back to his boyhood room anyway. We see this in movies a lot and I think it's pretty funny! It works for the purpose of the movie plot but not so well in real life. 🙂 If you know you're doing the right thing, then just keep giving yourself pep talks! ☺️
You could also take some good pictures of the room as it is right now, to put in your memory box. I sometimes wish I had pictures of my rooms from when I was a child. I have vague memories but I think it would be fun to look at them.
I ask myself: "would this be something that I would think about all the time if lost in a fire?" It makes it easier to get rid of things. HOWEVER, I am still working through things.
What if your oldest is 10 and you wish you had printed some photo books but you’ve not printed any and because you had several more babies and it just seems so overwhelming to print some photo books??! I have 10 years of their photos so far and no books printed for memories. They all are on external hard drives. 😅
I don’t think I’ll pass on my babies boxes as they don’t have the memory attached to them because they were babies. They mean far more to me. I go through their boxes with them though
Yess this! This is my mindset as I save items with my current babies. It's really my memory. So an outfit I keep isn't necessarily for them to put their children in. Should there be things they want in the future, sure. But when I'm ready to give their memory box to them as adults, I'll be sure to go through it again with them and move things they don't want to mine. It's my memory. Not something to force on them to care about.
I am typically very good about decluttering things, even sentimental items. Where I stop short, though, are cards. I have gallon-size bags full of cards from my engagement, bridal and baby showers, and wedding. What do I do with them?!? In the 9 years that I have been married I have never once looked at them. It seems a shame to just recycle them. Any ideas? Or simply toss them?
I have just spent the last two weeks going through all my families photos and certificates and putting them on my ancestry account under the person who it belongs to I have filled a few large bins of recycling and the photos I have divided into my children they have a box each or the family of the past my grand parents professional photographer taken I have kept and the certificates I have kept but I have taken copies just in case they are lost in a fire they are in the cloud. I have emptied albums also and donated them they were collecting dust or hidden in cupboards.
My biggest sentimental struggle is of that painting belonged to my grandpa. Due to circumstances they took it out of the frame and rolled it (before I was even born) and it's in a really bad condition now, but I have no money to pay for the restoration. It is not an antic, and not a beauty, just some painting my grandpa got from his painter friend, but it's an only grandpa memorabilia I've got (his WWII medals and his burgundy Parker 51 went to the youngest grandson and this filthy sonova* has sold them). I hate to see how the poor thing dies, but can't throw it away.
If we are passing only a box to the children, Do we make a memory box of ourselves for them? Or would it be better to include shared moments with them in their box? What do we do regarding our memories to make it easy on them to sort out when the time is come?
Photo albums were the thing in the 80’s & 90’s, so I have a ton of them. They take up so much space. Do you recommend taking photos out of albums and transferring to photo boxes? As you can imagine older albums sometimes the cover film or the photo itself is stuck on.
I inherited a set of China from my grandmother when she passed. I LOVE it, I’m grateful to be entrusted with it. But it’s HUGE. There are 12 place settings, plus serving dishes and extras. I would like to actually use it as my dish set, but we only need a few pieces, not all of them. What to do with the rest?
what do you guys recommend to get rid of pictures? just toss them? cut them in pieces? i feel kind of guilty about pictures.. even the blurry ones or with people i don't know (or care about anymore) in them... help pls
Thank you so much for watching! Here are links mentioned in this video:
Minimalism Back to Basics Playlist: cli.re/BASICS
Let it Go Book: amzn.to/3OruOYH
Large Chalk Labels: amzn.to/3OlQJR4
Chalk Pens: amzn.to/3DOxNpq
Photo Boxes: amzn.to/45eKVzA
Have a great day! - Dawn
You are SO sweet and your advice is top notch!!
I did a memory box for my two older kids who are now twenty five and twenty seven. My heart was broken when they opened it up. Took a quick look and said oh, Yeah neat. Neither of them wanted anything! They are both totally different kids, and one of them is even sentimental and had no desire to have anything out of the box. 😢 I am letting my now 14 year old do his own box.
@@pen5532 Oh wow, that would be incredibly heartbreaking, I'm so sorry!
May be freeing & healing to cut your losses,but if you kept them maybe future spouses or children of ur kids will luv the items.
@@TheMinimalMom Love your top! Where did you get it? I’m currently striving to pare down my closet to a few classic pieces 😊
This one hits right at the heart of a good part of my clutter problems. Family historian. That was my mother, doing all the ancestry things since before Ancestry was a thing. Along with all the printed records she had, Mom inherited alllll the photos from both sides of the family, plus a a ton from Aunts and Great Aunts who had no children to leave their memories to. That doesn’t mean my mother was neat and organized and had everything sorted through. On the contrary, she brought boxes home from every parent or grandparent that had passed, and they were still in the same boxes they got packed in 30 years before. When mom passed, I was designated the next family historian by my four siblings that didn’t want to deal with it. 63 boxes came home with me and lived in my guest bedroom and garages for a number of months before I finally tackled them, Months of walking into my guest room, turning around and closing the door because of the overwhelm, I told myself “Just one box today’. That got me mentally through some of the overwhelm. Treasures were found buried away in those boxes, family bibles, pictures more than 150 years old, scrapbooks with photos glued in from around 1910-1930, my grandmother’s pearls! And as mentioned by several people, all the cards from every birthday or holiday from everyone of her 5 kids. Haha! I got the boxes down from 63 to 6, which have sat for the last two years stashed in a few places. Mostly binders and binders of historical records that mom had gathered before the internet was a thing. After watching Dawns videos which I find so helpful, I thought I could just toss most of them, but nope! More discoveries were made. More 100 year old photographs were found, typed pages of interviews she had done with relatives before they passed. Copies of several letters from a gggreat grandfather to his wife in the 1860’s. Stories she typed out that she had heard and remembered. I thought all this information would be on Ancestry, and that I would be able to toss most of this paper, but after looking up several of the ancestors, I found that almost none of it was there I feel that I have gotten the encouragement I need from Dawns videos to power through. I had already started going through the saved things from my kids childhood’s, and like many of you have said, they don’t want that old artwork and don’t remember it, so it’s gone. Goodwill has been seeing me on a weekly basis for the donate things. As far as being the family historian, it’s a tough position, but I feel with these guidelines and suggestions I can figure that out too.
What an accomplishment!!! Great job!
I have this same situation. And the problem is the younger people don’t want this either
I am also a family historian type. I know that things are coming. I look at the photos with my Grandma, she tells me who people are and where they lived. It is my great hope to scan (or photograph with a phone) many of these items, create a book that can be printed multiple times and sent to interested family members, and then pair down to only the most gem items. Some of those photos we don't exactly know who those folks are, and its not like there will be anyone capable of identifying them. A collage in the back of the printed pages should suffice as "mystery ancestors".
I survived a large fire that burned a lot of my community, and its changed the way I think about a lot of sentimental photographs. If its truly sentimental, you want to get it on a modern, digital format and dispersed as your physical copies, PC, flash drives etc could be lost in an instant.
@@deannaholm3799 Thank you, it’s been daunting.
@@harrymyhero yep, for the most part, however, I was shocked when my mom passed, how much that the grandkids DID take, including my youngest who wanted her great grandmothers sewing machine in its own little cabinet. This daughter is truly my only minimalist child, so I was surprised.
Every day or so, I try to write down a sweet or funny memory of my toddler. Reading the past memories can conjur up the images I need so I don't have to necessarily save the actual objects. Plus, a notebook is very compact which is nice!
I actually have something similar. I have a tiny flat journal which kindergarten teachers has written very short entrys about me during that time, for example what I did, how I reacted to stuff, when they went somewhere and what I did etc. It is so fun to actually be able to read about my time in kindergarten which I don't remember as much from. It is a tiny journal that don't take up much space and I am going to keep that forever. I am a very quiet and reserved person, was even more silent during kindergarten and almost didn't speak. I have found out that I even learned sign language for some words to be able to communicate! So cool to read about.
I love the idea of only keeping happy memories!! Never realized how much of the sentimental items I have bring up so much sadness! I genuinely thought that was the idea of an item being sentimental, bc it reminds us of loved ones who have passed…but the encouragement to let go of these things once and for all, to say goodbye to the hurt feelings that WE attach to the specific item, and only keep the happy memories gives me strength to go through the rest of my garage totes!!! Thank you Dawn ❤️
Peter Walsh refers to it as malignant clutter, in his book called, “Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight “.
I have a lot of '"sad" sentimental items. I have gotten rid of a lot. My oldest son had severe medical issues since 1 month old. Some of the things I kept that have memories are medical records and nurses notes....He has been gone for almost 6 years now. He was 31 when he passed.Even photos of our "happiest times" with him are sad.,
Well said!!
@@beachprints ouch..this breaks my heart...I can't even imagine your loss...I hope you will find peace as your navigate your loss, however long that may take and find joy in life again..big hugs. I wonder what Dawn will say about these photos...Maybe store it away for now? Sending love.
@dawnforlife thank you for your compassion.
My mom passed away 2-2-22 and I have been slowly going through her keepsakes this year as an only child. I'm thankful I started watching your videos long before this life changing event bc my natural instinct used to be to keep everything sentimental. Now I tell myself just bc something was sentimental to her doesn't mean it has to be sentimental to me. She kept reports she wrote in elementary school (which I read and enjoyed then threw away) and EVERY birthday card she received since she was 6 years old (which I also enjoyed reading and either offered to the originally giver or threw away.) I have started a box of pictures from her high school years and memorabilia to take to her school's next all school reunion so the people I don't know in all those photos can have them 💜
I also used to keep every card and letter I ever received. They filled two boxes. I am almost finished sorting through the first box. I found a check my dad wrote me when I was in college for $200...dated around 1991!
I am thankful for digital photos, where a pic of a memory is available but takes no literal space!
@@dianeleslie671You can take digital pictures of the actual things, or even physical photos, and get rid of originals. I did that with a lot of kid’s artwork.
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you
After watching you for a couple years I think. I have not one sentimental bone left in my body. I don’t care I have the memory, and no one will want it when I’m gone so it will be tossed anyway. Sad but true. I may have kept a few things lol. But not enough to fill a box. So thank you!
I don’t have a sentimental bone in my body either- very freeing.
I've come to feel the same way about anything material ever since Dawn looked into the camera and said flatly "It's just stuff!" It's the people and relationships, the projects and goals, our inner peace and spirituality, that matter in our lives.
Me either! I’m not a gift giver either. I want to tell my kids after 18 they don’t get any more gifts from me. I will give my time and services
The same for me. It’s so freeing!
@@lifewithlarsandsusie8315 I agree. And more important (to me) is i don't want to be a gift receiver! Trying to get others to REALLY believe that has been a bit challenging.
Thanks for sharing your life here on yt❤. I saved my sons babyclothes. (He is 32 now😊). I had a quilt made out of al the babystuff of him. A babyquilt! So now he is getting a son and I will hand him his babclothesblanket. Felt really good like this.
I have finished homeschooling 3 of my 4 children and decided to go through the last 17 years of their schoolwork I had kept in the attic. I asked them if they wanted any of it, they said "No," so I bravely threw all of it in recycling. I let myself have a little cry, but I am so proud of myself. 😊 Thank you for your encouragement.
Most young people don't want any of it, they are into experiences not things, unlike us baby boomers
Nicely done! 👏
My kids didn’t want any of their childhood books either; both bedtime read-aloud and school historical novels etc. It was difficult but I picked out what I called my grandma books and gave all of the rest away. Strangely my grandchildren live too far away for me to read any of my grandma books to them. So I think I’ll read them to myself as I slip into my second childhood.
Read them in a video on your phone and send it to your children to play for your grandchildren. These will be special memories for them. @@angelacross2216
@angelacross2216 I have kept books for my future grandchildren also. I kept the ones I thoroughly enjoyed reading to my children and some of my books from my own childhood.
I’m a quilter, and recently have made several quilt tops that I do not intend to complete. So my daughter’s library once a year has a arts and craft sale to raise money for the library. So I am donating 9 quilt tops, 60 blocks to be put together, and two completed wall hangings. They are just taking up space in my home. It’s for a good cause, and someone else will like to complete so they can donate to a charity.
Love this idea. Hobbies are very hard to declutter.
@@ninadukette3340 just going to spend the money to finish. Batting, backing etc. I did the hard work now let someone else finish. I’m trying to use fabric stash I have will never get through it in my life time I’m 72 .
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you,
I have asked my sons what they want to keep. My special is not necessarily their special. I'm also being mindful of the fact that they will not want my grandparents old dishes (that frankly have sat in a box in the basement for years). They are enjoying doing this and having a say in this process.
I'm a 'saver' (raised by a hoarder, who lived through the Great Depression). Thankfully, I had enough insight that I saved only a sampling of my most meaningful school papers (1 apple box, including a couple academic trophies I had won) when I moved on to college. I also gave each of my children (mostly homeschooled) a plastic tote as 'saving box' for items they chose to keep, rotating out for space as time passed. (I allowed myself a Memory box for special things they didn't keep, or had gifted me.) I didn't save their clothes, only a couple special blankets/afghans. Since we moved several times, this limited space constraint really helped! Sadly, much of this stuff (stored in an attic when we moved out of state) was damaged by moisture/ mold (even in plastic totes and 🤷♀️)...but I was sadder than the kids about losing it. Interestingly, the youngest son is a Minimalist (why I started learning about it, and following Dawn 😉), the other 3 are still accumulating stuff.
I'm struggling with books. I keep 2 shelves of various age/subject materials as I do still tutor (which also serves as eventual grandkid material). But it's harder to give up my "resources" (self-help, counseling, gardening, herbal remedies), as well as books I have collected that I actually want/intend to read "someday". (Online audio/ebook availability--esp Hoopla, where it's free--has helped, but not all are available.) I'm working toward a 'lending library' where I can share w/others and still keep access myself.
I found the photos to be especially overwhelming until I let go of trying to put them in chronological order. I sorted them by person or family and worked on it just 15 minutes at a time. I found that a loose-leaf binder with pocket photo pages that accommodate various sizes was an invaluable tool. I sorted more than once, each time throwing more photos away.
"Not worrying about chronological order is a game changer! When my parents passed away, I had boxes and boxes of photo envelopes to go through (mom was one of those "3 copies of everything" people). I got 1 Large photo album, holds like 200 4x6s and maybe 50 5x7s, and I started to separate by person. Then I just started sticking the ones I wanted to keep in, in no particular order. I'm not an overly sentimental person, but now when I run into a picture i want, it just goes in on the next available page.
@@deniseharwood9521 Yes yes. Has saved space, time and head aches. After trying to organize my photos decided to consolidate in two pretty boxes. I enjoy my photos more often these days. Searching for something specific like high school friends, passed away family member, or holiday celebration is even easier this way, too. Now I know where to place the wayward photos I discover in files and piles.
@@deniseharwood9521 My basement is finished beautifully by my husband. Once filled with teenagers hanging out, it is now my sewing studio. About 10 days ago, we started cleaning it out, donating, and painting and reorganizing the storeroom under the stairs. While glancing thru the photo albums, I realized how dumb some of the pics are. I started pitching a lot of them. Now I am looking for a local company who will put them on a thumb drive or something digital. Think of the space that will save. and such a gift for my kids of their childhood in pictures!
Katrina here 😅...
I had a jumper that was my mums , she passed 2017 .
I dont wear it much, I thought I lost it about 4 yrs ago and add a near melt down.
Im actually in complex grief ATM from my husband of 36yrs.
Yesterday I lost mums jumper and you know what it was like oh well.
She would of bought it from a thrift store , i never saw her wear it and it really wasnt worth stressing over it .
Literally, let it go .
Theres a reason for everything .
Decided not to beat myself over my widow brain and give myself some grace.
You’ve probably heard it a million times before, but you should totally have your own book! Especially as a mom, you’d garner such a huge audience.
She does have a couple books/guides!
I just today donated the artwork of my parents. I am still cleaning out the attic after their passing. I still feel some guilt after doing this, but they would be laying there so…let it go. It is a whole and heavy process for me but almost there 🙌
Watching your videos give me motivation to keep hoing 🙏
Someone else will enjoy their artwork, I’m sure!
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you,
And when you pass on stuff to your kids, let them know that they can do whatever they want with it, even if that means it gets chucked in the bin. My mother was devastated that I didn't want the dress from my first birthday party, or the outfit I came home from hospital in, but those are her memories, not mine. I was far more interested in the things that I could remember using or being given. I have a few baby photos of myself, but most of my childhood sentimental items date from ages 5/6 and older, because those have real meaning for me. The one item I still have from my birth is the teddy I was given by a distant relative, but he was my constant companion until I was about 10, and he appears in so many photos that he's almost like one of the family!
Removing photos from albums, editing them and putting them in a box is fantastic in reducing the volume.
I have always had a memory box for my now adult son, since he was born. I edit it every few years, as what seemed important before changes, but 'the outfit worn home from the hospital' will always makes the cut.
I totally agree with displaying and using cherished items. Inherited things you don't love are best sold, and buy something you love with the money.
For anyone who struggles to let go of lots of baby clothes could make a memory bear with the material from the clothes, rather than keeping it all.
My number one decluttering motivation is I don't want my stuff to be a burden and I appreciate your reminder x
PSA for anyone.... Take pictures of people.... Not places. People can be in front of places in the background... but one thing I've noticed going through it is the random crappy pictures of things I have no clue what or why I took a picture box it. Like some signs you can't read or a washington monument that is grainy and out of focus. The ones with the people are the best ones.
...pictures of trees or mountains seen from the jiggly, streaky car windows as you travel... 😅
@@emmelia-6068 had a lot of welcome to ( State) signs that you could barely see and some blurry farm animals on the side of the road.
IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE IN THE PHOTOS!!! There's nothing more frustrating about old family photos than not knowing who these people are! Not that I don't want the photos, but without names, they are just antique store "instant family" images.
and if it's not a family member, tell us WHO IT IS! Dad's best friend? Favorite neighbor at the old house? Let. Us. KNOW! :)
On the same note: Please make a note who that baby or toddler is. I have no idea how my siblings and cousins looked like when they were small, let alone my aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents.
I would add, don't just identify them as "Grandma and Grandpa"! How will the person looking at them 50 years in the future know whose grandma and grandpa they're looking at? Write the full name of each person, and even birth and death dates if there are similarly named people in the family. -Signed, A Family Historian 😀
And if Grandma and Grandpa are standing in front of their house in the photo, give the street address and name of the town if possible. -Signed, A Local Historian
YES!! Yes to all these replies. My husbands parents have thinned through ALL their photos (What a task!!!) and they have divided photos up into giant envelopes for each of their grown children AND all the photos of of their parents/grandparents etc is labeled on the back with full names, who they are and what they were called.
They are leading me by example of how I’d like to prepare things for my children as a get older.
Super useful as always. We've printed and framed a few exceptional travel photos and made (so far) one photo book of long ago trips instead of storing boxes and boxes of mediocre photos. It personalises our home and reduces our inventory of stored photos.
Love this!
I just wanted to say "Thank you!" for addressing the photo's issue. I not only have my own photo's of my Family that I need to go thru, but I have inherited generations of photo's from my Mother's Home. It amazes me going thru them how many "bad" photo's were still kept! I am now resolved to make photo albums for each of my Children, myself, and one for my Mother's photo's and give away the rest. I watch you and your Sister Diana on UA-cam. As well as purchasing your Declutter book. Thank you both for all the inspiration!
I have been going through things for a couple of years and continue to do so. It makes me feel good that I will not be leaving boxes of items for my adult children to go through. I don't want those things to be a burden to me, presently, or to them in the future. I struggle with the photos that my in-laws left, so have made a point to sort through our family pictures, placing and labeling what remains in a limited number of albums. Family members go through what I am discarding and take what they would like. I also delete the digital form of whatever pictures we are not keeping. Thank you for saying it is ok to get rid of things that bring up bad memories. I have applied that to pictures. Less stuff means more time to make new memories and more space in the house allows my husband more room to get around with his walker. Thank you and the best to you and your family.
I'm glad I seen this video when I did I just went through the 2 big totes I had saved of baby toys and clothes I wanted to keep ( thought I would forever) but surprisingly it was easy to let go and gift 90% of it. Thankyou for this video
Hi. I am in my 60s and my four children are now adults, they all don’t want anything that are in the boxes of baby memories or the art work that I kept. They said those are your memories Mom, you keep it or get rid of it when you want. Unlike you, we did not bring them out to look in them periodically, maybe that would have made a difference 🤷🏼♀️ Thank you for the video, will try and find Peters book to read.
Dawn, this is an area I struggle with - thank you for breaking it down for us so effectively
My 2nd daughter was prem, I was so blessed to be given clothes from others family n friends baby's. I've always kept those but only a few their support and experience made me strong. I can very happily say my baby is 15 2inch taller than me and awesome. But I will always appreciate th support they gave me ❤❤
Dawn, your hair looks GORGEOUS!
love ya Dawn! just spent the day decluttering my partner's stuff - YES!!! I've got him on board! I'm SO relieved, he had so much stuff! such a big win. I found myself teaching him so many ideas I've learned from YOU! :)
Wow! I literally took a bag of baby clothes to the donation center today. My youngest is 22 🙄. The boys really don’t care about their coming home from the hospital clothes. Or MY favorite shortalls they wore. Let someone else enjoy them!
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you,
Dawn, I found you on UA-cam three years ago, and your videos have absolutely changed my life. Thank you for sharing your vision and mission in life.
I inherited some of my grandmother's old silverware and it sat in the cupboard forever. So decided to clean it up, separate what I needed and give the rest to my younger brother. Now it gets used every day.
This was so helpful. I've been on the hunt for informative videos about decluttering sentimental items, and I haven't found much! I think people skip over this area, and that's why I don't see a lot of content. Thanks for tackling it.
Appreciate this! I've found it helpful to take photos of certain sentimental items I don't use so I can keep the memory while letting the actual object bless someone else. A single photo of a bedspread or table full of items can be a treasure trove of memories. Works for multiple photos too. ❤
I sorted 20 years of photos v fast by having 2 boxes, small and big, and throwing into the big all of the ones that were not interesting, or made me feel sad or bad. There must have been 5000 and it only took me a few hours. I then cut up all the ones I wanted to keep so they didn’t take up much space and stuck them in a scrapbook. Easy to flick through and my family and friends have laughed at the fashions and hairstyles 😂 Soooo good to get rid of so much rubbish, and have a meaningful end result.
I think the sentimental box should be just for you, limited items that make you happy, but not pass the box to someone else because those items may not mean anything for others, at least that happened to me with things, photos my mother gave me, I just returned them because those were not really my memories
This video couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Cleaning out my parents’ house, and there are boxes and boxes of things that they saved from childhood. Even though I’ve watched so many of your videos and have very minimal things in my own home, I have had trouble letting go of these things from the past. This video confirms it’s the right decision. I am also ordering the book. Thank you so much for helping me through this difficult stage of my life!!
Thank you. I have decluttered my sewing fabric (not sentimental items, I know). I got rid of twelve big bags of fabric that I did not want, was overwhelmed to the point I stopped learning to sew. I used all your tips and I am now excited to sew again. I am saving the sentimental things for last. Thanks again and have a nice day.
I have let go of a lot of sentimental items recently. After my mom tried to give me some items and I realized I didn’t want them, I have changed my mindset. I also had some items from my grandparents that I let go of after I realized that item is not the person and I wasn’t using the items.
I’ve been talking with my husband about this as he’s been going through his father’s estate. We didn’t keep a lot, but what we did is displayed nicely or in his memory box.
I use my hope chest to put my memories in. My daughter mentioned her hope chest when she was in college and most of the kids had never heard of one before. My daughter said the teacher had her tell everyone about the purpose of hope chest. She said "mom I thought everyone had one" 😂
I love these back to basics videos! Thank you!
For me, taking digital pictures of "not used" sentimental items was a wonderful way to let go of them! Now, I can visit that item any time I want w/o pulling out a box. As well, I asked for a blessing upon the next owner. ♡
I'm pretty sentimental naturally so I do actually like and have memories in boxes. I appreciate this video and intend to use it to recalibrate my own situation. .but I keep thinking that some of us have a much deeper problem than these tools can solve. I'm going to revisit the Peter Walsh book and also bring up in therapy of course.
In my case I don't have kids or any nephews nieces or cousins that may be interested. One cousin gave me giant totes of photos of our grandparents some are over 100 years old. So I have already rough sorted the photos to what I think are the best and I am looking into options for the next phase. In my case memory boxes are broken down by generation. Boxes for memories of my life, boxes for parents, boxes for grandparents. I think I have 5 or 6 total. It's more than the table top can hold. 😂
Whenever I have tried to reduce this amount down I get stuck from decluttering at all. Yes can I decide but those decisions are final and these things are irreplaceable. Memories are a different part of the brain, and it does feel physically bad to imagine parting with some of it. I have regrets of items I parted with from this type of clutter when I ignored those feelings. So the answer for me is a slow purge..... I focus on what I can do.
I can basically sort and look for trash. I can see what little things feel okay to have less of. I've narrowed down letters to the best letters to keep from each person, but yet I like keeping my yearbooks for example. I kept only the 2 most sentimental concert tshirts out of a dozen, I am wearing my 50 year old scholls sandals round the house, and I use old rulers my grandmother used at her drafting job. That's where I am currently.
Would love to hear how/why you set up a shelf of food stuff in your basement.
I think she's discussed it somewhere. 2020 and all the subsequent shipping delays I think sort of spurred her on.
My middle monkey is a huge artist and is legitimately a good artist. So good that I’ve framed some of his work and use it as art on my walls. His pictures of robots and other things I put in frames in his room. When he makes a new picture and wants it framed we shift our old artwork and put new in and he can decide if he wants to keep the old picture or if he can let it go.
Comment about the baby clothes: I saved just a few of my favorite items so the inventory wasn't an issue. However, my daughter (now 8) LOVES baby dolls. She saved her money ($40 on Amazon) and bought a "real-looking" baby doll, and I gifted her the baby clothes for June. She was soooo thrilled, and it made my mama heart happy to see her happy once again using the clothes that gave me so many memories 💖
I am in my 70"'s and never look at photos or sentimental things. I tried going through old photos and my husband cried like a baby over looking at them because it made him so sad that those times are over.
Bless your sweet husband. I’m 53, and married almost 30 years. I’ve never been able to watch the videos from our wedding because so many of the people we loved are gone. I don’t watch videos of our now-grown daughters either. Sigh…Sometimes memories are just better off in our hearts.
My grandmother could not go through old photos either because it made her too depressed. So sad that her happy memories did not outweigh the loss.
@@kateyare4708 that is sad. Photos and memorabilia make me happy. But videos hit a little different for some reason. Maybe I’ll understand what the older generation feels when I get there too. ❤️
That’s exactly how I am too. I literally cry because what I consider the happiest, best, times of my life are over. It hits me really hard looking at them. I wish I knew how to look at photos and smile and feel happiness, but it just doesn’t work that way for me. It’s close to being excruciatingly painful.
Thank you SO much …the part about the stored things should make you happy ..
As someone who's still closer to kid age than parent age, I had a thought on memory boxes - kids won't remember their baby clothes. Parents may find swaddling sentimental, but anything they haven't used since before they could walk, they won't remember. Art projects, toys, and books, on the other hand, will likely hold a lot of sentimental value.
Yep my cedar chest my parents gave me has some random baby clothes in it. I'm not even sure they are mine or why I have them LOL! I'm 54. I got rid of most of the stuff my mom saved for me. I kept those school papers for years. Finally I was like why am I keeping any of this??? None of it is important to me but every person is different.
Very wise at a young age.
@@deniseharwood9521 for some reason I get that a lot lol
Take pictures, put on a flash drive. Ask a blessing upon the next steward of your things.
♡
Thanks for this very helpful video Dawn. I was meant to see it this morning. On your recommendation I’ve already done my kids memory boxes, similar size to yours, but have been putting off the dreaded task of a huge chest full of photos so this information is invaluable. You’re a star ⭐️
I definitely needed this video this month.
I have been following for a bit now. I mentioned becoming a minimalist to my husband and he laughed at me. Gave me motivation to keep going as apparently I haven’t gotten rid of enough stuff yet. But I’ve finally gotten my paper litter under control. Memory bins were next for me. I was just trying to decide what size is best for them.
I’m already good at decluttering but this video is very helpful for this sensitive subject. Thanks! 😊
Dear Dawn, thank you for this very clear video! ❤These are the best tips on decluttering sentimental items I have come across.
I was so lucky to find your videos around the birth of my first child (My kids are ages 4 and 2 now). They each have a memory box and we kept one box of baby clothes. Although I am not sure where it is, so I should probably declutter my attic some more. 😉
Another tip: if your kids want to throw away something like their artwork that you feel strongly about, you can always put it in your own memory box! I started doing that with some artwork gifts like mothers day gifts that were special, but realized it doesn't have to be limited to that. If your box fills up, you can always decide that it's not worth keeping anymore.
One of the hardest but most impactful things I decluttered was a letter. In grade 12 we had to write a letter to ourselves and our teacher would mail it to us 5 years later. He did, and I hadn't really accomplished anything I'd set out to do. It was very depressing. I had it tucked in my dresser for about 10 years before I finally threw it out
We don’t plan on having anymore babies in our house. I have myself one small tub for things to keep. We have passed on everything else to a local nonprofit that helps expecting mothers. It has felt so good knowing that we are helping someone else. I especially love the thought of another baby enjoying the clothes and things again. I would much rather someone else enjoy it, than it be stored in my attic forever. ❤
I put my children's special drawings and pictures they have made me through the years in scrap books for them and me. I want them to grow up knowing how important those items were for me. I recommend it to anyone to neatly keep them.
Getting my "Dawn" on Gotta get this place ready
very helpful! could you share your tips on digital decluttering, old digital photos, files etc?
Thank you so much for the great video! I inherited all the old photos from the 1920's on up when my mom and dad passed away. There are all kinds of photos of people that I don't know who they are, because my mom wasn't really great at writing on the backs of them, the way my aunt was - too many, I guess. :-) Anyway, now I feel like it's okay to get rid of the ones of the people I don't know and just keep the ones with my mom, dad, and other relatives that I know, and friends listed on them. :-) This video was very freeing!
I love going to estate sales. One thing I have learned is how common it is for people to save their kids baby clothes and how common it is for the family not to want them. There has to be a psychological explanation. If the clothes are in perfect condition they can be sold and sometimes I do. ( I recently bought a pair of original 13:00 Converse gym shoes) . But old cloth diapers or bronze shoes?
Absolutely awesome video. Thankyou so much for sharing.
100% helpful!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!
Depending on the items, if you don't know anyone who wants them you may find a historical society who will take them. For example my Uncke had a lot from his time in the army. The local VFW was very happy to accept a donation when he was looking to downsize. It meant a lot to him and also to them.
Yes, I am the last in my generation, so I am actively searching out museums and archives that might be interested in some of my family items. I've been amazed at the interest expressed in even quite ordinary letters and diaries from 40-50 years ago!
That’s a cool idea!
So good! Thank you Dawn! 🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️
As ever! Super helpful tips thank you Dawn!! I like the rough sort of photos and LOVE the container as the bad guy!! Thanks for the book recko!!
Dawn, do you have a template of the baby box labels you created? I love them!
Also, I've been watching your videos for about 3 years and you've been such an inspiration! Thank you so much for sharing your journey ❤
This is the only area I struggle with. I have totes upon totes of my kids stuff in the attic. I NEED to go through it all and make the memory boxes. It's so difficult.
I’ve saved things I’ve asked my grown kids if the want. They say No. but now I have grandchildren and now my kids ask me. Hey mom do you still have this beanie baby. Or I held on to dog costume she wore every day for a year and now her daughter wears it and loves it. Thankfully I saved it so special.
Oh nice! I bought that book months ago and have gotten about 40 pages into it. TIme to get serious. 😊😊
My mother was the self-appointed family historian and I have 2 large tubs full of binders. Besides the family tree and the usual details one might expect, she was obsessed with recording every detail of her siblings' lives as well as my dad's, mine and my sister's. I have at least 2 binders of my life through high school, every party I was invited to, school programs, etc. She recorded family reunion dates, names and addresses of attendees. Every letter and card ever received. On and on. I would welcome ideas on guidelines for culling this. Other than my own info, somehow I feel I don't have the right to get rid of all this hard work ... even though I know that's not logical. I'm 75, have one daughter, and several grand and great grandkids. I want to pass on the core and most meaningful items.
Can you ask your daughter to go through it and see if she wants anything? If not, a local history society might be interested in the whole archive. That kind of exhaustive detail of everyday life is of huge value to historians.
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you,
You might end up with 50 big bins of children's clothes, toys, paperwork, artwork, etc by the time they are young adults, and will probably discover that they do not want it, and may not even want to supervise you deciding what to dispose of on their behalf, so beware of not sorting things down as you go along as they are growing up or you can end up with a huge unwanted collection of your own making. Keep maybe one early outfit and toy, and maybe one example a year of optional paper/artwork. Also, do not mix important things in like identity documents that someone will have to sort piece by piece in a future year. Take it easy on your future self-or whoever will have to make all those delayed decisions-and keep very little.
Suggestions for my husband who has sentimental attachments to broken furniture? Such as a large 1970s overstuffed chair. The legs broke off many years ago, and the bottom of the chair has metal attachment pieces for the legs which are misshapen so we can’t even add legs. Then years ago our cat tore up the arm. He doesn’t want to throw it out, so I’ve put a cover over it. It’s taking up space in a bedroom where I could really use the space. He doesn’t use it.
We also have a wooden rocking chair that has been repaired many times, but it’s cheap and now it’s so broken it can’t be repaired. It’s laying in pieces in the garage, but he won’t throw it out.
These are just 2 of the many furniture pieces that were hand-me-downs that aren’t very functional, but he has an attachment to them that I don’t understand. I am hoping to downsize in the next 5-10 years, but I’m not sure that is going to be possible.
I love your videos and your house ❤
WOW! This was a great video. Thanks!😁
The fact is adult children can rip your heart out especially with sentimental items. A bit like souvenirs they don’t mean as much to the person who didn’t experience or don’t remember things. You can make a memory box, hand it over then move on as it definitely may not be viewed the same by your adult child or their spouse. Good luck Mamas, it’s tough. ❤
Great job on this topic!
Sentimentals are def the most difficult. After losing all grandparents and then parents, and having one (miracle- due to my own health) child who is now 25, I have a lot of things that I’m holding onto. I finally let go of most of my mom’s clothes (I actually wore a few pieces until menopause weight onset) last year. I don’t have many items that were dad’s and grandparents, but my son’s room is still the same since he moved out 6 years ago. I just can’t seem to change anything about his room … I brought him home from the hospital and raised him in this house. Am I grieving? Maybe I need mental help🤷🏼♀️ I’m not a hoarder and I’ve been minimizing over the past few years (slowly, as time permits). Any tips to help me (emotionally) with minimizing my son’s room so that I might actually use it as a guest room?
Has he left a lot of his personal belongings behind? Maybe you could call him and explain that you'd like to simplify the room a little so that you can use it for guests and can he come buy and pick up some stuff? I know some parents are anxious about making their child feel unwelcome in the family home, but if this stuff was really precious to your son, he would have taken it with him, and it shouldn't be necessary for him to have unwanted stuff stored at your house to make him feel welcome!
My parents relocated to a new area a month after I left home, so I didn't have a choice! Not having a 'room of my own' or a load of my stuff in their new house didn't make me feel any less welcome there.
I don't have specific experiences to draw from, because I am 57 and childless (I was the eldest of seven in my family so I do understand some of the nostalgia), but my advice would be to first create an image of in your mind of what you want the guest room to look like and how you want to use it. Take as much time as you need to visualize it and get inspired.
If you can get your son to come and help, that would be great. Otherwise, get some good storage boxes and start boxing up his stuff in a careful intelligent way. Label everything for easy access later. Dispose of what you can by donation to someone who would appreciate it. I think if you get the ball rolling, and if you know his cherished things are being stored carefully, and if you start to get a vision of the room as it will be when it's fresh and different, it won't be so hard. I daresay he doesn't really want to go back to his boyhood room anyway. We see this in movies a lot and I think it's pretty funny! It works for the purpose of the movie plot but not so well in real life. 🙂
If you know you're doing the right thing, then just keep giving yourself pep talks! ☺️
You could also take some good pictures of the room as it is right now, to put in your memory box. I sometimes wish I had pictures of my rooms from when I was a child. I have vague memories but I think it would be fun to look at them.
I ask myself: "would this be something that I would think about all the time if lost in a fire?" It makes it easier to get rid of things. HOWEVER, I am still working through things.
What if your oldest is 10 and you wish you had printed some photo books but you’ve not printed any and because you had several more babies and it just seems so overwhelming to print some photo books??! I have 10 years of their photos so far and no books printed for memories. They all are on external hard drives. 😅
I don’t think I’ll pass on my babies boxes as they don’t have the memory attached to them because they were babies. They mean far more to me. I go through their boxes with them though
Yess this! This is my mindset as I save items with my current babies. It's really my memory. So an outfit I keep isn't necessarily for them to put their children in. Should there be things they want in the future, sure. But when I'm ready to give their memory box to them as adults, I'll be sure to go through it again with them and move things they don't want to mine. It's my memory. Not something to force on them to care about.
am sorry you don't know me but I came across your eye catching profile and thought of knowing more about you,
❤so helpful
So helpful - thankyou!
I am typically very good about decluttering things, even sentimental items. Where I stop short, though, are cards. I have gallon-size bags full of cards from my engagement, bridal and baby showers, and wedding. What do I do with them?!? In the 9 years that I have been married I have never once looked at them. It seems a shame to just recycle them. Any ideas? Or simply toss them?
I have just spent the last two weeks going through all my families photos and certificates and putting them on my ancestry account under the person who it belongs to I have filled a few large bins of recycling and the photos I have divided into my children they have a box each or the family of the past my grand parents professional photographer taken I have kept and the certificates I have kept but I have taken copies just in case they are lost in a fire they are in the cloud. I have emptied albums also and donated them they were collecting dust or hidden in cupboards.
I don’t have printed photos, but I habe thousands of digital photos. How to sort those 😢😢😢???
Thank You Always !!!🙂
Hello from Croatia 😊❤
Hello. Kako ti?
@@hollyl5702 ima nas još!!!
@elenafaith7813 ja sam pola Ḫrvata y jivim na UŠA el moja baka i dida je mena učila naša lepi jezic. (ja govorim puno vise neg ja mozem pisat.)
*nods*, thank you. 😊👍
This is excellent!!!
My biggest sentimental struggle is of that painting belonged to my grandpa. Due to circumstances they took it out of the frame and rolled it (before I was even born) and it's in a really bad condition now, but I have no money to pay for the restoration. It is not an antic, and not a beauty, just some painting my grandpa got from his painter friend, but it's an only grandpa memorabilia I've got (his WWII medals and his burgundy Parker 51 went to the youngest grandson and this filthy sonova* has sold them). I hate to see how the poor thing dies, but can't throw it away.
How did you make those cute labels with the kids pictures ? ❤️❤️
Hi Dawn, where did you get the labels for the kids memory boxes? Thanks
I like your couch. Where do I get that couch?
If we are passing only a box to the children, Do we make a memory box of ourselves for them? Or would it be better to include shared moments with them in their box? What do we do regarding our memories to make it easy on them to sort out when the time is come?
Photo albums were the thing in the 80’s & 90’s, so I have a ton of them. They take up so much space. Do you recommend taking photos out of albums and transferring to photo boxes? As you can imagine older albums sometimes the cover film or the photo itself is stuck on.
Dawn, do you only have 4 dining/kitchen chairs? Where does your family sit when you eat meals together? I’m so curious!
They also have 3 or 4 stools at the kitchen bar don't they? Maybe some sit there and some at the table. ❤
I inherited a set of China from my grandmother when she passed. I LOVE it, I’m grateful to be entrusted with it. But it’s HUGE. There are 12 place settings, plus serving dishes and extras. I would like to actually use it as my dish set, but we only need a few pieces, not all of them. What to do with the rest?
Sell the extras to an antique store and let them sell it to someone who will cherish it
what do you guys recommend to get rid of pictures? just toss them? cut them in pieces? i feel kind of guilty about pictures.. even the blurry ones or with people i don't know (or care about anymore) in them... help pls