SENTIMENTAL CLUTTER

Clutter.  We all have it to some degree. Between my two children, my husband and myself we can accumulate so much clutter!  It's the everyday clutter for us--bills, receipts, school papers, artwork my daughter draws daily, etc. that usually takes over our kitchen island.  However, the less mentioned clutter most people have a hard time dealing and parting with is sentimental clutter.

Often times items are handed down from our families, we hold on to pictures because we think we should keep them, or save every piece of artwork our children make us. We mostly hold on to it because we don't want to hurt someone  feelings or we have a hard time letting certain items go. It's important to categorize your items when decluttering any space, but especially important when dealing with sentimental clutter. 

Here's some questions to ask yourself when going through this type of clutter and ways you can overcome the clutter from accumulating and taking over your spaces and life!
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Do I use this?
Does it give me joy?
Can I give this to someone else? 

PHOTOS:
With photos, artwork and paperwork it is so easy to scan or take a digital picture. Photo books are a wonderful way to contain these items or save them to an organized thumb drive by year, so you can easily access them at a later time.  My rule of thumb with photos,

Toss:

• Photo is unrecognizable
• Multiple shots of one picture
• Have doubles, ditch the other copy or give it to another person in the photo or someone who would like it

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Another idea is to keep several pictures in a frame instead of just one, just stack them behind the photo you're displaying.  There's also digital photo frames that you can upload several pictures on to and it displays a slideshow of your pictures. Be selective when taking pictures--Do you really need a picture of that elephant at the zoo or 50 shots of the same picture?  Lastly, only save and print your favorites! 

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS:
Whether it's your grandmothers quilt she made for you as a wedding gift or handed down antique furniture, toys, records, memorabilia, it is OK to not want to keep it and to give it a new home.  Keep only what you like and have the space for.  Take a picture of any items that you are having a hard time parting with. Often looking at the picture will create those same memories and take up much less space.  You don't have to keep stuff to let someone know you love them or to remember them by.

ITEMS NEEDING REPAIRS:
This should be a no-brainer, but ditch any items that need to be repaired, which you are not planning to fix anytime soon.  The zipper on the pants you never wear, the hole in your favorite sweater, a lost button on a shirt, etc. Make a plan to get it fixed and get it taken care of immediately or get rid of it.  It's lying around, taking up space.
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GIVES NEGATIVE ENERGY:
​If you have any items that create bad memories for you, by all means get rid of it immediately.  These items should not be taking up any space in your home or life.  

DISPLAY ITEMS:
For the items you like but don't know what to do with, display them!  There are many ways you can do this such as, in shadow box frames, arranged on the wall like a gallery wall, on shelving, etc. Scour the internet for ideas, there are tons of them on Pinterest.

Since I've recently went through my photos and cards from family and friends, I have found it so liberating letting some of them go!  I held on to years and years of Christmas cards and invitations that I never cared to look at again, photos that were unrecognizable or doubles that were just not necessary to hold on to anymore.  Keeping only the things that I actually like and/or use has helped with the sentimental clutter in our home.

Some other things to remember, you can ditch the item without ditching the memory that is attached to it and as Marie Kondo would say, 

via Pinterest