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Post by lisae on Aug 22, 2016 11:38:07 GMT
I can only offer the opposite perspective. My mother is not sentimental and she saved almost nothing from my childhood. There are report cards and a couple of perfect attendance certificates though I only missed days in 2 grades. She didn't keep any of my schoolwork so I would be delighted to find some things like that.
I think I would scan them and would keep a sample of each thing. I'd create scrapbook pages for the different activities I did like Vacation Bible School with a pocket on the pages to hold the items I'd kept. Then I'd have the memories recorded along with the memorabilia.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:44:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 12:06:36 GMT
After DH's parents died and we cleaned out their tiny apartment, I was amazed at how much STUFF they had accumulated that we had to deal with. We ended up getting rid of most of it. I think it was part that, and part the fact that we don't have any kids that any of these things might have sentimental value to, but I'm not so big on keeping things like that anymore (e.g certificates and memorabilia). I am also determined to start weeding out my things NOW and try really hard not to accumulate stuff just for the sake of having stuff.
Kind of related, the show "Tiny House Nation" really appeals to me, and DH laughs at me because we live in a 3,000 sf house, just the two of us, and it's crammed. But I think there is a lot to be said for trying to have that mindset, of just keeping the essentials around you, things that have use and real meaning to you, and not being burdened by excessive possessions. That's going to be my MO going forward.
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Post by whopea on Aug 22, 2016 13:31:26 GMT
Although I'm not opposed to scanning memorabilia, I'm also a fan of keeping original documents, certificates, etc. I'm just not confident that technology will allow us to retrieve our images in 30 years. I have a big loose-leaf binder full of page protectors. I keep old report cards, awards, certificates, etc. I feel like paper doesn't take up much space, so I don't mind keeping stuff like that, as long as it's organized. I also have nice accordion file boxes for old letters, stories, greeting cards. From time to time I go through and toss the ones that don't have meaning anymore. The things I have a hard time parting with are bigger things- books, toys, etc. but I've been slowly working through my junk. I found for me, downsizing my house gave me the motivation to seriously purge. I'm trying to work through this process too. I've started taking pictures of artwork and old school pages that I've kept for dd. I plan on making a bound book of them for each year in the early elementary years (because there is so much more) and then combine several grades later. That way there aren't boxes and boxes of stuff to lug around or hold for her to decide if she wants them someday. There will only be five books or so. |
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Post by cindyupnorth on Aug 23, 2016 14:42:24 GMT
Totally there with you. I have a very strong attachment to material things. Mainly because I have nothing from my childhood. Nothing, as our house burned down when I was in college. My Mom was one of those people that even kept my baptism gown, etc. burned. I would have loved to have had my girls wear it. Anyway, there are very fond childhood things I would have loved to have shared wth my girls. NOW I keep a lot of their things. I think too much. I need to declutter. My oldest dd is living at home right now after grad'ing college and starting a new job. She will live here til she saves up some money to get her own place. But her room is FULL of childhood stuff. I unfortunately gave her the sentimental gene. HA. So we are planning to dejunk, and organize this wk that I am off work.
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Aug 23, 2016 15:14:04 GMT
How do I get rid of my stuffed animals? They were my childhood friends and they received a lot of love and (seemed) to give it back. I can't just put them in the trash! So, there they sit in my basement waiting on their fate. They're old and worn and very dusty so no one else would want them. I did manage to purge a ton of other sentimental stuff I was hanging onto when we moved this summer. Among my old stuff were rubbermaid boxes of art and school work from my 2 DDs (20 & 16). It's not easy at all but it just sits there and they sure don't want it. It seems that each item brings memories and makes it feel like it just happened. But in the trash it goes.  Several years ago when my parents had to down-size in a big way I literally couldn't help my mom purge bec there's no way I could see all of that stuff that represented the material part of my life and tell her to throw it away. I get my sentimental attachment to things naturally. |
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Post by cindyupnorth on Aug 23, 2016 15:21:23 GMT
How do I get rid of my stuffed animals? They were my childhood friends and they received a lot of love and (seemed) to give it back. I can't just put them in the trash! So, there they sit in my basement waiting on their fate. They're old and worn and very dusty so no one else would want them. I did manage to purge a ton of other sentimental stuff I was hanging onto when we moved this summer. Among my old stuff were rubbermaid boxes of art and school work from my 2 DDs (20 & 16). It's not easy at all but it just sits there and they sure don't want it. It seems that each item brings memories and makes it feel like it just happened. But in the trash it goes. Several years ago when my parents had to down-size in a big way I literally couldn't help my mom purge bec there's no way I could see all of that stuff that represented the material part of my life and tell her to throw it away. I get my sentimental attachment to things naturally. I know!! so how do you throw away your dd's favorite stuffed toy, well, all 20 of them? LOL. It's hard. But then, what do you DO with them then? I guess it's just better to get rid of it. |
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Post by alexa11 on Aug 23, 2016 18:40:20 GMT
I'm with you, but with me it's old pictures-boxes and boxes. Every time a relative passes away, I end up with them. I don't even know who most of them are, but I can't toss them...
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Post by PepsiGal on Aug 23, 2016 19:34:09 GMT
I am starting to declutter again - I started a couple of years ago after we cleaned out our Mother's room at my sister's house. I came home from that and started tossing things that had not been touched in over a dozen hears. Now I need to go to different parts of the house. I'm doing to remember -
What does having it add to your life?
Thanks voltagain
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 23, 2016 19:59:46 GMT
How do I get rid of my stuffed animals? They were my childhood friends and they received a lot of love and (seemed) to give it back. I can't just put them in the trash! So, there they sit in my basement waiting on their fate. They're old and worn and very dusty so no one else would want them. I did manage to purge a ton of other sentimental stuff I was hanging onto when we moved this summer. Among my old stuff were rubbermaid boxes of art and school work from my 2 DDs (20 & 16). It's not easy at all but it just sits there and they sure don't want it. It seems that each item brings memories and makes it feel like it just happened. But in the trash it goes. Several years ago when my parents had to down-size in a big way I literally couldn't help my mom purge bec there's no way I could see all of that stuff that represented the material part of my life and tell her to throw it away. I get my sentimental attachment to things naturally. I know what you mean. In anticipation of the upcoming school year, I needed to clear out the cubbies where I had stuffed all of the worksheets, artwork and other stuff DD had hauled home from kindergarten last year. Some got tossed as it came in, but the stack of papers was literally 2' tall.  Some of it just had to go. The worksheets were easy to toss along with all of the multiple generic coloring pages that were just photocopies. She decided which of the artwork pages she wanted to keep and I chose some smaller things to put in her scrapbook. The stack is now down to about 6" high, so a huge improvement. Hopefully we'll be able to weed it down further later. The teacher also put together a 2" ring binder portfolio that I'm keeping, but that will go on a shelf with our scrapbooks. |
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Post by gritzi on Aug 23, 2016 20:10:43 GMT
I would keep the Girl Scout pins
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Post by secondlife on Aug 23, 2016 20:38:23 GMT
I feel like for me, some of the bits left over from a life enjoyed are worth keeping. I don't feel like I should throw all that stuff out. Or that I shouldn't, either, but I don't have a compulsion to toss it all.
I kept some things from my childhood in a memory box. I threw out a lot too, the stuff with memories I didn't enjoy holding onto. But some things were worth keeping and making a little space for.
My choir medals I kept, my trophies I gave to the school (they have a huge trophy case they put all the students' trophies in over the years - hundreds of them now), my report cards I threw out, my yearbooks I don't know where they are anymore. That was my pick, I think you should choose to keep what speaks to you about what formed you and made you the adult you are.
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Some of it just had to go. The worksheets were easy to toss along with all of the multiple generic coloring pages that were just photocopies. She decided which of the artwork pages she wanted to keep and I chose some smaller things to put in her scrapbook. The stack is now down to about 6" high, so a huge improvement. Hopefully we'll be able to weed it down further later. The teacher also put together a 2" ring binder portfolio that I'm keeping, but that will go on a shelf with our scrapbooks.