When it comes to decluttering, there are things you have no connection to at all- items you can discard without a second thought and there are some that pull on your heart strings every time you look at them. It’s ok if you have a few key items that you want to keep, it’s when there is sentiment attached to a LOT of things- that’s where the problem lies. Here are the most common sticking points and ways to help you let go.
Minimalism on Female First
Cards- Greetings cards can mount up quickly, especially if you keep them all. Perhaps you only keep the ones from certain people like a partner or parent. Still, with birthdays, Christmases, Easters, get well soons, congratulations, well dones, thinking of yous, sympathies and happy anniversaries, this can mean a lot of paper. If your cards are out of control and you still enjoy leafing through them every now and again, why not take pictures of them all (both inside and out) and keep them digitally? This way you can still read the personalised words and enjoy the covers without them having to take up physical space.
Photos- Photos are another memento that can turn into a hoard if you aren’t careful. The Minimalists recommend buying a photo scanner and digitizing all of your photos and storing them safely so you can look at them whenever you want without the burden of many albums in your home. Marie Kondo also suggests that if you have several of the same picture, you choose the best of the lot and discard the others to avoid having multiple photos of the same thing or pose.
Things with a face (teddy bears)- People find letting go of teddy bears to be particularly difficult because they often give them a name and a backstory. However, if they are stuffed in a box in your attic, their life is going to be pretty miserable. Why not keep the one you have most of a connection to- i.e. the one that was your favourite as a child and let other children enjoy them instead? Toys are there to be played with and enjoyed not left to gather dust.
Family items- When family members pass away, someone has to take on their belongings and often the recipients keep them out of guilt. Does this sound familiar? The fact of the matter is- if the person who passed was to pay you a visit now- they wouldn’t want you to feel burdened by their things- they certainly wouldn’t want you to feel unhappy about them. Think of what they would say to you if they were still around- chances are they would tell you to be ruthless and only keep the things that you can use.
Letters- Letters are something else that can easily be digitized so if you’d like to read them again- the option is still there by just taking a picture of the words. This saves you having to keep a huge box of paper under your bed that’s probably in no order anyway. If you let go of the paper copies, it doesn’t take anything away from those words- they are still heartfelt and genuine.
Childhood ‘keepsakes’- Anything from childhood tends to fall into the ‘keepsake’ category in many a home, but it needn’t. Drawings, notes and school reports can be scanned and stored digitally, books, toys, games and clothes can be donated to parents who can’t afford to buy much for their children and Christening gifts can be put to use rather than being stored away in a box.
Tickets- Perhaps you have been to see a lot of theatre productions in your life, or bands. Maybe you keep tickets from days out and trips. If this is the case- these can all be scanned and put into a file for you to peruse at your leisure if you ever want to look back over your activities from years gone by.
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