Slow dial in to minimalism - do you miss memorabilia?

[KungfuRabbit]

Hello Mustachians!

I've spent too much of my life collecting "stuff".  Souvenirs from vacations, memorabilia from childhood, single-use kitchen appliances, broken stuff I'll fix someday, stuff I want to get rid of but don't want to / can't throw in the trash, etc, etc.  Nothing terribly valuable, and still managed an over 50% savings rate, but lots and lots of stuff still. 

The DW and I are somewhere between SWAMI, at least FU money if not full FI, and want to finish long-term work projects we are passionate about but also burnt out and want to walk away.  The long term goal is to retire beach town, but no idea where (Hawaii, Florida, Costa Rica, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand?  The difference between our money being FU and FI is location based...the DW wants something more like Hawaii, I want something more like RIGHT NOW which would be lower cost areas), so the long term minus 1 year plan is to travel the world and spend a month or two in various candidates.  Minimum start likely 1-2 years, within 5 year no matter what it's happening though :)

Most of COVID I took on massive landscaping projects, rebuilding 60 year old retaining walls, raised gardens, patios, decks, etc, etc.  The yard is now magazine quality beautiful, and at the very least is very nice to live in, but certainly also adds way more to resale value than what I spent on it (sweat equity!).

But this fall I took to cleaning and purging.  I got the first green bag dumpster for the junk from the landscaping projects, the second green bag dumpster for the junk in the garage, and then started on the basement.  Many garbage cans full of trash, multiple trunk fulls of donations, trips to electronic waste centers, etc.  Most of the stuff was a no brainer to get rid of, some was a little iffy but I don't feel bad, but it's getting closer to more and more stuff left is a little more sentimental.  You know, the kind of thing that has been in a box for 5 years, but when you open the box you go "ahhhhhhhhh, I remember this!!!". 

For the travel phase the plan would be to sell the house / cars / all major furniture / all easily replaceable items.  At that point we'd get a small storage unit during the "homeless" traveling phase, with the intention of eventually settling down and shipping the stuff.

So here's my question.  When it comes to all those various mementos that you don't REALLY care about, but still go ahhhhhhh every time you open that box, how much of it do you keep?  If you purged your stuff because you wanted to go minimal / move into a small place do you regret it?  Keeping a 5x5' storage unit would cost $500 / year, so could theoretically store a dozen boxes of that stuff indefinitely without REALLY changing the budget, but would obviously be pointless to keep a storage unit half way across the world because I don't want to throw away my childhood toys or a statue I bought in Nepal 10 years ago, ya know???   

[Fish Sweet]

When I'm faced with a crate full of these old (usually useless) but nostalgic objects, the first thing I do is sort between 'things that spark affection and memory' and things that don't.  The latter go into the trash/recycling/donation pile.

For things that spark affection and memory, I take a picture of each one.  Nothing fancy, just a quick snap with my phone camera.  And I go onto a google doc labeled MEMORIES and type up a quick little description of the item and what it means to me.  Where and how I got it, who was with me, what was happening, how I feel about it, what this item represents. Sometimes these descriptions are a sentence long, sometimes I get a couple of paragraphs out. A lot of my most favorite mementos have a whole long story behind them. Again, nothing fancy, usually a quick stream of thought, no bother with grammar or even punctuation.

95% of the time, the act of preserving that memento in writing and photography is enough for me to let go of my attachment to the physical object. I'm a very nostalgic person, but it's not the object that was so precious to me, but the moment of my life that it captured.

The 5% of the time where I find myself still reluctant to let go?  Then I keep it, until memory and affection fade away.

[JoePublic3.14]

I have purged all sorts of sentimental junk. Trophies, jerseys, all that nonsense. Once or twice I’ve seen something, maybe on TV, maybe discussed in a book, and thought 'hey I have been there, had a shirt' or something. It never gets to the point of wishing I still had the widget. I do enjoy going down rabbit holes on the web about things I’ve done or places I’ve been.

[Chris Pascale]

When I temporarily went from a 5 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment, I finally looked at the bin of all my old writing from 10-20 years ago. The bin was well-traveled and not well-reviewed. I had always anticipated this bin being an archive of my unpublished work for when I was long-gone, but it was just junk.

I do have a bin of comics, but the kids read them. The cards need to go, and I've been meaning to get them to someone I know who can get the right prices for them.

[Morning Glory]

What cured me of that was when I started to inherit other people's sentimental crap and had to set up strict boundaries about not taking things.  It made me really examine what things I wanted to keep and pass onto the next generation.

[mspym]

Honestly? Almost everything I have ever put in storage, I eventually let go of. Since I know that about myself, I shortcut the process by just donating/discarding from the start, instead of going through the pointless storage stage.

[seemsright]

My goal this next year is to get rid of another 10% of our crap. I dont want things. I want freedom and choice.

I am slowly learning how to work and live with less. I do not need a ton of clothes. 3 wool t shirts and a pair of jeans and a few workout leggings and a few sports bras is about all I need.

I am slowly learning how to cook simpler, have less food in our house. Learning new systems so we can have less.

I do not want to store things. I am building a system to put pictures on the cloud to remember items. We are slowly learning how to put things onto the computer that would be a physical thing. Like our record keeping, journaling, etc.

I want to be able to travel and have choice and not the weight of things.

We are being very deliberate on how we do this as we do not want to feel punished or go out and rebuy what ever we got rid of.   

[lutorm]

For things that spark affection and memory, I take a picture of each one.  Nothing fancy, just a quick snap with my phone camera.

I've started doing this, too. Convert physical storage to digital, way more efficient.

[ixtap]

No.

We did each keep a childhood teddy bear, to which I attached the buttoniere he wore and the hairpiece I wore at our wedding.


DH had a hard time at first. When we initially downsized, he sent a lot of stuff to his parents', with the excuse he was sending a computer to his Dad, anyway. We finally went through the box several years later and it was easy to be ruthless after so long living without it.

[lazycow]

I have kept a shoe box worth of journals and memorabilia. The kids each have one large box. That's all.

I highly recommend Erica Lucas' Youtube videos, particularly the ones with her husband. They have gone from 190 boxes of stored stuff down to just a few over 2 years. Their process of deciding what to keep is really inspirational and collaborative even though they don't always agree.

[former player]

I agree with the "take a picture" response.  Almost the only sentimental things I've saved as physical items are ones that I have out on display as house decorations (there is a box with some certificates of sentimental value in it as well).

What you could also do as an exercise is write a single page "story of my life to date".  That might tell you what of your past remains important to you and whether you need to keep any physical reminders of it.

[KungfuRabbit]

Well, thanks!  Two points I like:

-No one seems to regret throwing away stuff

-Taking a picture is easy / cheap / no storage required / functional - I like that (and will do it)

Back to purging I guess.  I want to keep filling up our large trash can weekly for at least a few more weeks, and the bigger stuff I'll likely get another green bag next spring.

[mspym]

I find the Minimal Mom's videos about decluttering super helpful and this one was on the onion method, which got me to accept that anything I am on the fence about, I will eventually get rid off so why not now? - https://youtu.be/PA2NAoKNxUs

At some point in the future, we will be moving. This is making me look at my belongings with the eyes of Would I Move You? and a lot of the time the answer is no. For the things where the answer is no, then I have started using it up or removing it now. The goal is to not have to do a monster clean-up mission by the time we get to the moving stage. Why not benefit from the additional space and calmness now?

[Steeze]

I recently donated almost all the momentos. I am down to just a shoe box now. Almost all of it was stuff I just move from place to place and only see when I am packing and unpacking. It’s nice for the memory, but in reality it is just clutter that doesn’t do much. I took photos of everything and made an album and that is that.

The difference between a trophy and a photo of a trophy is minimal. If you have a screensaver you can see that trophy way more frequently than it being in a box in the garage.

[Sailor Sam]

I actually just finished several years of winnowing through my possessions, and refining what I want to keep. So far I haven’t missed anything that I’ve gotten rid of.

The final round was the hardest. I had a few items I was keeping because of the knee jerk understanding they should mean a lot to me. A handmade quilt sewn by my mom to my exact teenage specifications, a painting that meant a lot to my mom, and my childhood doll. Eventually I decided that I was going to be brave, and remove anything that had any sense of obligation attached to it.

Holding that quilt over the donation box was a very long moment, but I haven’t felt an shred of guilt or regret. The lack of emotion feels like a pretty important lesson in my life. Something about the difference between actual pain, and fear of pain. Plus something about how humans often hold on too long, and the regret tends to be for staying longer than we should have.

My apartment is now very peaceful, and exactly as I want it to be.

[Metalcat]

It's a process.

I used to have a lot of things, and now I have very few things.

You don't have to tackle it all at once, just start getting rid of things. The process will feel more natural the more you do it.

I go through literally everything I own every 2 years. Not all at once, I do a segment every few months, but literally nothing I own gets left undisturbed for more than 2 years.

[Cassie]

Having moved across the country a few times has made this process easier. The older I get the less stuff I want to dust and clean. 8 months ago I downsized to a 855 sq ft condo so I was brutal and only took what I loved. After moving I donated another 10 boxes.

[Siebrie]

I'm pretty ruthless and go with my gut reaction. If something doesn't make me instantly happy or pleased, it goes. I'd say your mementoes already passed the test by being kept in a box; they would be out on display if they really made you happy.
I'm now teaching my dds (10 and 13) that just a 'I got it from X' is not a good enough reason to keep something around. 'I got it from X and it makes me happy / I use it' does make the threshold.

[stoaX]

Having moved across the country a few times has made this process easier. The older I get the less stuff I want to dust and clean. 8 months ago I downsized to a 855 sq ft condo so I was brutal and only took what I loved. After moving I donated another 10 boxes.

Moving several times has been my most effective way of getting rid of stuff, sentimental or not. 

I can't think of any sentimental item that I got rid of that I regret. 

[JoePublic3.14]

I'm pretty ruthless and go with my gut reaction. If something doesn't make me instantly happy or pleased, it goes. I'd say your mementoes already passed the test by being kept in a box; they would be out on display if they really made you happy.
I'm now teaching my dds (10 and 13) that just a 'I got it from X' is not a good enough reason to keep something around. 'I got it from X and it makes me happy / I use it' does make the threshold.

Nicely said, good perspective.

[use2betrix]

There’s a good book called, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” that I think you would really enjoy to help get through this process. Many of the posts here seem to mirror much of the teachings.

[SpecialSnowflake]

We went through this process 5 years ago when we became full time RVers. We weren’t collectors or particularly sentimental, and, since we never had kids we didn’t have children’s stuff to worry about. We did have 33 years of marriage under our belts and a 4 bedroom home with a 3 car garage and a “full” full basement.

Now we have almost nothing and live in 400 square feet condo on wheels. It was not easy to discard some many items and it wasn’t because I loved them all, but it made me sick that we had spent so much time and money accumulating things that really didn’t mean much. I sure don’t miss any of it.

The RV world is full of stories of folks that have spent many thousands of dollars storing items that they could have replaced for less later. Often, just shipping charges are more expensive than the stuff being shipped.

IMHO, a traveling lifestyle changes your mindset and tastes. When we settle down again I want my surroundings to reflect who I am at that point, not who I was years ago.

[stoaX]

There’s a good book called, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” that I think you would really enjoy to help get through this process. Many of the posts here seem to mirror much of the teachings.

Its also a fun read even if you're not interested in tidying up. Being a westerner, I enjoyed the different cultural perspective that the author presents in the book.

[MasterStache]

Nope! In fact I discard cards of all occasions after I've read them. They may sit on the counter for a couple days, but ultimately end up in the recycle bin. I have exactly 1 medium size bin of memorabilia. It mostly consist of old military photos and awards.
I had a whole lot of old comic books that weren't really worth anything and I got tired of storing them. Took them down to Half Price Books and they gave me almost $40 for them! I made better use of that money than the comic books.

It's odd because my mom is exactly the opposite. She was bragging the other day about still having free game coupons for Putt Putt she got in the late 80s. Umm it closed down 25 years ago! I equate clutter to stress. The more crap you have the more space you need to store it. I just don't like clutter.   

[marble_faun]

I have a different opinion than the majority here.

Those things that carry your stories and memories and important and irreplaceable. A digital photo doesn't have smell and texture. It's not the physical thing that was with you all those years ago and is not the same.

And YET in this age over over-abundant stuff, we do need to pick and choose what to keep and what to release, otherwise we will be totally suffocated by our belongings and trapped by stacks of storage boxes.

Solution: create a highly intentional archive of memory items.

Open up all the nostalgia boxes and spread everything out. Carefully consider each individual item.

Maybe you don't need to save 10 t-shirts all from the same time of your life, but just a couple that are the most highly resonant. Maybe you picked up a rock that you thought would be a souvenir of a place you traveled but you've forgotten exactly where that was... that one can go. But your grandma's snow globe, which you remember seeing at her house every Christmas, is really special and needs to stay.  Etc. etc.

After whittling it down to the things that hold actual meaning, there's another level. Things that you really LOVE-love and that have some decorative value should go on display in your home. Think along the lines of a shadowbox or curio cabinet. Could some things be fashioned into useful items or artworks - along the lines of memory jugs or quilts? As much as possible, live WITH the resonant things so that the moods they evoke can be with you in your daily life.

Then there's the stuff that is meaningful but not of much aesthetic value. These things can be packed away, but in an organized and intentional manner. Make a list of what is in each box and note why the things are significant. Then when you want to travel down memory lane or share the stories with someone else, you'll know right where to look.  Maybe you'll have a grade-school memory box, souvenirs of your wedding, travel memories, whatever else. If the stuff is small enough, perhaps choose storage boxes that are nice-looking and can live on your bookshelves instead of in a basement.

I'm a person who has given away some of my personal souvenirs when moving and really regretted it. I love my stuff and all the stories and feelings connected to it. Like I can pick up a wallet I used 20 years ago, still filled with my little cards and scraps of paper from back then and just travel back in time instantly. Most objects are replaceable, but these kinds of things are not.

[LiveLean]

I often tell the story of friends who lived in an old house that burned to the ground in an electrical fire one night. They and their four small kids escaped with the clothes on their backs. They say looking back it was the greatest thing ever since it would have taken them forever to go through all of their stuff and since the fire they accumulate nothing.

My dad died in August and he left behind two condos in different states. Not a pack rat or a hoarder by any means, just two condos worth of basic living supplies and furniture. Here in Florida, where I've lived near him and his FL condo, I've spent waaay too much time posting on Freecycle and FB Marketplace stuff for free (and dealing with that neurotic crowd). I've taken many trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army. Since his condo community won't let you dispose of bedding, I had to haul it back to my house and store it in my garage for four days before trash day. Just getting rid of stuff like toasters, microwave ovens, coffee makers, iron/ironing board, vacuum, etc.....I'm ready to give all of my stuff away and live the Sprinter Van lifestyle.

[JoePublic3.14]

 Like I can pick up a wallet I used 20 years ago, still filled with my little cards and scraps of paper from back then and just travel back in time instantly.

I do this every time I leave the house, since same wallet in use for 22 years and counting.

Thanks for sharing your perspective though, was interesting to read.

[Travis]

Being forced to move every couple years has kept our weight/sq ft/volume to a relatively unchanging amount, but it wasn't always so. DW is big on memories, and for our first few years together kept a giant box of high school trophies and term papers. I carried forward several boxes of comic books.  Over time she'd shed a few more old or unnecessary paper items and finally one year ditched them entirely and reduced the trophies to just the name plates.  I sold the comics after discovering you all and realizing most were worthless even in mint condition (I can now read all of them digitally). We still have a shoebox and a couple small albums of photos. Not sure what to do about those. Every digital photo now syncs to a cloud account and I'm looking at options for backing up videos.  I've taken the lead on keeping nostalgia since on departure from every duty station I get a very large plaque.  They're quite large and heavy and sometimes I wonder how long I'll care to keep them on the walls. I left all but two behind in a storage unit for our move to Korea.

[Metalcat]

I have a different opinion than the majority here.

Those things that carry your stories and memories and important and irreplaceable. A digital photo doesn't have smell and texture. It's not the physical thing that was with you all those years ago and is not the same.

And YET in this age over over-abundant stuff, we do need to pick and choose what to keep and what to release, otherwise we will be totally suffocated by our belongings and trapped by stacks of storage boxes.

Solution: create a highly intentional archive of memory items.

Open up all the nostalgia boxes and spread everything out. Carefully consider each individual item.

Maybe you don't need to save 10 t-shirts all from the same time of your life, but just a couple that are the most highly resonant. Maybe you picked up a rock that you thought would be a souvenir of a place you traveled but you've forgotten exactly where that was... that one can go. But your grandma's snow globe, which you remember seeing at her house every Christmas, is really special and needs to stay.  Etc. etc.

After whittling it down to the things that hold actual meaning, there's another level. Things that you really LOVE-love and that have some decorative value should go on display in your home. Think along the lines of a shadowbox or curio cabinet. Could some things be fashioned into useful items or artworks - along the lines of memory jugs or quilts? As much as possible, live WITH the resonant things so that the moods they evoke can be with you in your daily life.

Then there's the stuff that is meaningful but not of much aesthetic value. These things can be packed away, but in an organized and intentional manner. Make a list of what is in each box and note why the things are significant. Then when you want to travel down memory lane or share the stories with someone else, you'll know right where to look.  Maybe you'll have a grade-school memory box, souvenirs of your wedding, travel memories, whatever else. If the stuff is small enough, perhaps choose storage boxes that are nice-looking and can live on your bookshelves instead of in a basement.

I'm a person who has given away some of my personal souvenirs when moving and really regretted it. I love my stuff and all the stories and feelings connected to it. Like I can pick up a wallet I used 20 years ago, still filled with my little cards and scraps of paper from back then and just travel back in time instantly. Most objects are replaceable, but these kinds of things are not.

I don't think this is really all that different from what anyone else has said.

It's just that some of us, after doing this over and over again, get really comfortable with getting rid of stuff.

I lost my attached to "things" by moving more than 40 times. The sentimentality and joy of items fades pretty quick the 30th time you pack and unpack them.

I also noticed that I was only having these little nostalgic item-induced memory jaunts when I was moving. Otherwise this crap (and it was mostly crap) was sitting in boxes doing literally nothing, just waiting for me to move again and notice they existed.

Now, I'm not against keeping beloved items, not at all. But I now own so few items, period, that I know where everything is in my home at all times. I never forget what I own or where it is, and nothing stays secreted away in a box never to be seen except when I dig it out to declutter or move.

Everyone has to find their own balance, but for most of us, the more we do this, the less we are attached to the physical items.

I personally have very little attachment to the items I own. I keep some sentimental ones, but I'm not attached to them to a point that I would be emotionally affected if I were to lose them.

But that's also something I've cultivated in myself. I remember when a beautiful stained glass from an artist I loved who passed away, came crashing down and was totally destroyed.

I had a moment of feeling devastated and then stopped in my tracks and decided "it's just a thing, a thing you enjoyed, a beautiful thing made by someone special, but still just a thing" and it's been radically liberating since.

I don't get fussed about things breaking, being lost, or needing to be decluttered. I can still enjoy things without being burdened by them.

It's quite lovely.

[mathlete]

Maybe this isn't exactly memorabilia, but I'm big into video games and have been playing them my whole life. I wouldn't call myself a "collector", but for most of my life, I would buy games and not really ever get rid of them. I also got into "retro" games for a while when prices were cheap. I could buy a Super Nintendo game that I always wanted as a kid for like $8 or something. At my peak, I probably had a few hundred games.

When the pandemic hit, video game prices shot up like crazy, so I finally sat down with all my stuff and thought long and hard about what I really wanted to keep. I basically did a 2 x 2 matrix for my possessions. On one axis, you have, does/does not fetch a high price and on the other axis, you have does/does not have a strong memory attached to it.

It turns out that a surprising amount of stuff fits into "no strong memory". This stuff is easy to get rid off. Even easier if it fetches a high price. Strong memory/low price is another easy decision; there are relatively few of these and little reason (besides space) to get rid of them.

The only difficult choices I made were in the high price/strong memory group. But this made up a relatively low percentage of my games.

I sold boxes and boxes of a stuff a few months ago. My results are

1.) Cleared out a lot of clutter
2.) Made over $1K
3.) Do not miss ANY of what I sold
4.) What I kept is now displayed much more prominently on a bookshelf in my living room. My favorite items are "faced out" on the shelf so I can see them and be reminded of good things all the time.

The process took a while but I couldn't be happier.

[SavinMaven]

I've only started to declutter, but I read something somewhere that really resonated.

Space around objects both gives, and reflects, value. When you go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, it's a small painting on a huge wall solo. It's easier to appreciate that way, and would not look the same if it were one of thirty or forty paintings crowded together. It's easy to see, easy to appreciate, and the value is implicit in the way it's displayed.

This has prompted me to get rid of the "lower ranking" memorabilia so that the truly "precious" is easier to appreciate - out on display instead of crammed in a closet.

[stoaX]

I've only started to declutter, but I read something somewhere that really resonated.

Space around objects both gives, and reflects, value. When you go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, it's a small painting on a huge wall solo. It's easier to appreciate that way, and would not look the same if it were one of thirty or forty paintings crowded together. It's easy to see, easy to appreciate, and the value is implicit in the way it's displayed.

This has prompted me to get rid of the "lower ranking" memorabilia so that the truly "precious" is easier to appreciate - out on display instead of crammed in a closet.

That's an interesting way of looking at it.  And I like the term "lower ranking memorabilia" - I gotta try using that when de-cluttering. 

[Pookie]

My biggest issue with "stuff" ......photos! I have boxes of photos but no relatives who would value them when I die. It pains me to toss them but why do I keep them if no one in my life will appreciate them.

What a feeling to have a simplified life! I like taking things to Goodwill. If it doesn't bring joy, get rid of it!

[BlueHouse]

I've been decluttering too (a lifelong process) and this time, it finally dawned on me that the majority of the stuff I keep in boxes, tucked away, are meant for someone else to enjoy.  In case so-and-so come to visit.  In case my niece or nephew want it.  Once I realized that, it got much easier for me to get rid of things.  I've kept a toy box full of little toys and fun things to do for children.  No one has touched that box in 20 years.  I finally put it in my front yard marked "free" and it was gone within minutes. 

As for the photos -- I do this with a lot of my things, and did it with all of my mom's photos, cards, drawings we made that she kept and put them all on a digital frame.  I used Nixplay frame and got one for my mom, one for myself, and one for each of my siblings.  We have been having so much fun because it's so easy to share photos and memories and post them directly to other people's frames.  During COVID, it has kept us closer together and now that mom has dementia, it keeps her engaged with the goings-on with each of us.  I can honestly say it's the best gift I've given ever!  We all love it so much! 

[Ron Scott]

Our small family of 3 has grown over time to live with what we call “veto power”.  That means each of us can veto a family purchase or the discarding of “significant” memorabilia.

We have each learned over time to be accommodating regarding purchases, since aggressive vetoing could lead to a veto of something you personally might want…but veto rights regarding decumulation have been a bit loose.

Let’s just say we have quite a few boxes of stuff I do not feel is necessary, but others do.

But OMG, who gives a shit!

[kite]

Going through my own bit of "Swedish Death Cleaning" lately.

I have a small home. When we purchased and furnished our place, we didn't have much money, so most things were pre-owned & utilitarian.  So I thought there wouldn't be all that much to declutter.  Then a loved one with an even smaller home died unexpectedly.  The clear out of their stuff was exhausting and took several people.  The lesson is one I always knew: It's all landfill, even before you bring it home.
I'm on a fierce give-it-away-now purge. 
I may die next week, next year or forty years from now.  But I don't want anyone to have to go through days worth of digging out and deciding about the utility of anything.  I'm putting all my physical things in order and passing on anything worth inheriting to the next generation this year. 

[9patch]

I'm kind of in the same situation, starting to look at cheap places to retire so that I can retire sooner rather than later. You should look up the wardrobe cleanup of The Minimal Mom. You can apply the same though process to mememtos.

[Reynold]

That is going to be a challenge for us, not so much me as I keep relatively few mementos, but for my DW.  She has strong memories of everything, each piece of wall art, item of jewelry (who gave it to her or where she bought it, etc.), and feels as though getting rid of it will reduce her memories of that person or event, or is disrespectful to them.  It is not unusual for her to cry during weekly house cleaning when she gets to things associated with people who have departed our lives, such as our parents. 

Worse, she has often brought up regrets at sentimental things she got rid of, including even books that are long out of print, but she also wants to clear things out for our next move to a smaller place, so she is in a dilemma a lot.  Going through things to weed them out is always tough for her.  And we still have her parents house to clear out, there are at least 50 full sized photo albums going back 6 or 7 decades.  I'm not looking forward to that. 

[iris lily]

When I'm faced with a crate full of these old (usually useless) but nostalgic objects, the first thing I do is sort between 'things that spark affection and memory' and things that don't.  The latter go into the trash/recycling/donation pile.

For things that spark affection and memory, I take a picture of each one.  Nothing fancy, just a quick snap with my phone camera.  And I go onto a google doc labeled MEMORIES and type up a quick little description of the item and what it means to me.  Where and how I got it, who was with me, what was happening, how I feel about it, what this item represents. Sometimes these descriptions are a sentence long, sometimes I get a couple of paragraphs out. A lot of my most favorite mementos have a whole long story behind them. Again, nothing fancy, usually a quick stream of thought, no bother with grammar or even punctuation.

95% of the time, the act of preserving that memento in writing and photography is enough for me to let go of my attachment to the physical object. I'm a very nostalgic person, but it's not the object that was so precious to me, but the moment of my life that it captured.

The 5% of the time where I find myself still reluctant to let go?  Then I keep it, until memory and affection fade away.

This is THE BOMB! I bow to you, oh purger of nostalgic, useless objects!

[nessa]

I'm an only child with no kids of my own - no one is going to want pictures of my childhood, or my dad's childhood, and Mom has already farmed out stuff to my (estranged) cousins and (estranged) stepsibs.

I figure at some point I'll go into some type of care home and live long enough to experience dementia, so I am doing two things with the photos I have. 1) picking my favorite ones from my childhood and putting them in a massive frame. I can display this now. 2) Everything 'significant' from adulthood I am collecting into a very simple scrapbook which will include lots of stories / events. I figure my caretakers can help me read through it and read the stories when I get 'too old' to remember it myself, as I won't have any family members to do this with.

Morbid, but we all face that scarlet conclusion though we live our life in a dream. I've learned the only person to take care of me is ME, and I want to preserve my happy times for myself.

[AMandM]

Somewhat to my surprise, I have found that getting rid of memorabilia has become easier as I get older (I'm 56 now). The lightbulb moment for me was realizing that I can actually have a lot of the memories and the joy they bring without having the objects themselves. For instance, I remember the fun I had in high school band, and I enjoy the musical knowledge it gave me, without keeping my clarinet. I remember summer visits to my cousin and her animals, and her teaching me to ride, and I have my present-day warm relationship with her, even if I throw away the box full of letters we exchanged as children.

Also, along the death-cleaning lines, I have finally acknowledged that many items that matter to me will not matter to my kids when I'm gone. In my bedroom there's a rag rug made by my great-uncle, who was a family eccentric in more than one way. I love it for his sake, it keeps my feet off the cold floor in the mornings, and it fits in with the general look of my room, but my kids never knew Uncle Floyd and they won't have any use for it. I can accept the fact that they will throw it away when I'm dead, and that makes it easier for me to contemplate discarding it myself. 

[AMandM]

I figure at some point I'll go into some type of care home and live long enough to experience dementia, so I am doing two things with the photos I have. 1) picking my favorite ones from my childhood and putting them in a massive frame. I can display this now. 2) Everything 'significant' from adulthood I am collecting into a very simple scrapbook which will include lots of stories / events. I figure my caretakers can help me read through it and read the stories when I get 'too old' to remember it myself, as I won't have any family members to do this with.

This is genius for everyone, even if they have siblings and kids. Thank you!

[Just Joe]

Thank you for the app connected picture frame idea. My mother is starting to have memory issues. I'll purchase one soon and load it with pictures and then invite my sister to add her's too.

I have the pile of family pictures. They need to be scanned and ID'd while the family members who remember them can tell me who they are. They can then become part of the digital picture frame rotation.

[svosavvy]

This thread inspired me to contact a local consignment shop.  Next week I am taking in my toy tractor collection.  I was lukewarm about them anyway.  It was always my Dad who was jazzed about them and would buy them for me at Christmas.