Do you have collections of baseball caps or spoons from all your vacations? Did you inherit your aunt’s figurines? Or do you have so many seashells that you don’t know what to do with them?
Many times we keep souvenirs or collections because of the feeling associated with them, not because they are useful. Are you really enjoying them if they are boxed in the basement or collecting dust in the attic?
Give yourself permission to keep only those things you love and/or use and get rid of the rest by selling, donating or re-gifting them (if appropriate). If you don’t love something and haven’t gotten rid of it, it has become clutter.
If you still are having trouble getting rid of your collectibles here are some suggestions to help you hold on to memories without taking up a lot of physical space:
- If you have a collection that you have outgrown, take a photo of it then put all the photos in an album or make a photo collage and hang it on the wall.
- Make a quilt from material of your child’s special outfits or sentimental t-shirts from college.
- Frame event posters and hang on the wall or frame doilies or pillowcases and display them. You can also use shadow boxes to capture the memory of a person or place.
- Rotate your displays. Use the seashells with candles and sand for a pleasing display in the summer and then in the fall bring out the amber glass collection from your aunt and display that.
Also, remembering that you don’t need stuff to have memories can be helpful in managing souvenirs and collections.