That's something I really struggle with, s well. I have a shelf of sweaters that my grandmother knit that I never wear, probably will never wear, and don't quite know what to do with.. or things that I can't bear to throw out, but only look at when I'm decluttering or moving.
One suggestion I've heard is to take a picture, and keep the picture instead of the item.
And sometimes I've thrown out what I can, and left the rest still in the box, revisited it in a year, and been more able to get rid of more things.
Last year threw out this pillow I'd had as a little girl. I'll repost a reflection on what that was like for me, in case that's helpful.
I second putting stuff in a box for a while. When a year (or five) has passed and you realize your life was just fine without the items, it's easier to part with the things.
In my area, I can put a box outside with a FREE sign on it. The items will all be gone within a few hours (I live near a university, and there is a lot of pedestrian traffic). This is a great way to unload items too peculiar or old for Goodwill, but which do not fall into the category of garbage.
That's hard. Maybe for the stuff that's in good shape, you could give it to charity? To a women's shelter or something, where it could help someone else? Or Goodwill if it's not the sort of thing that a shelter would need? You'll still have all your memories that made the keepsake special, and maybe the keepsake will carry some of that goodness and positive energy with it to a new person who could maybe use some.
Take a picture of it with your digital camera and keep it on your computer. Then when you need to go back to it, you 'have it', but it's not taking up physical space in your house.
The other trick I learned is to put things in this category in a box and put the box somewhere out of the way, like in the basement or the back of a closet. If you really need something close to you, you'll go back and get it out. If you don't, and it's been in the box for a year, you can just get rid of the box - don't even open it before you get rid of it or you'll just go through this all over again.
There are keepsakes, and there are things people gave you - slightly different issues. I was surprised to find that a lot of my friends don't remember what they gave me - I wore a shirt I've never liked (it has fake Indian designs, in gold fake leather, no less) to a gathering of friends (we used to give each other gifts on our birthdays). The woman who gave it to me admired it; I told her she gave it to me, but she did not remember that. I wore the shirt out of guilt, because I never wore, and wanted to please the giver. I now feel much better about getting rid of gifts I don't like or have no use for. Clothing, books, nick-nacks - they will all go as I work on the sections of the house they now live in.
Keepsakes also have categories - family heirlooms, and things remembered. For example, I have a set of Bavarian china cups and saucers that belonged to my great-grandmother, or possibly one before that. They are beautiful, but were very seldom used because they are fragile, and not very large. My family drinks coffee in quantity, not as an after-dinner rite. My mother would be very upset if I got rid of them. I would feel a bit of guilt as well, although I've never used them since they came to me. This kind of thing is hard to deal with, but if you have just a few of these things they can be managed.
What's difficult is things remembered from childhood. Books, of course, are a category in themselves, and have issues other than keepsakes. But keepsakes of memory are a problem. My SO insists on keeping a couple of cloth napkins printed with strawberries. His sister foisted them on us when we cleared his family's house, but the SO remembers the napkins being used when his mother decided to set a fancy table, and says he's seen them all his life. I have a little decorative pitcher that I remember from my childhood that I am keeping, so far. The number has to be kept down, and limited to reason. I recently threw away some glass jam jars I kept because they were an unusual shape, and I thought I would use them to keep herbs or spices, or something like that. I did not use them much, but they had been around, moving from place to place, for 30 years. I was keeping them because I continued to believe they would some day be useful, and they were pretty to look at, and they reminded me of the time in my life I was into that sort of life and decorative kitchen. The jam company, I think it was Crabtree and Evelyn, does not use that sort of jar now, so they had become irreplaceable in my mind.
This became more of babble than I intended. Maybe I need to think about a post as well
I agree w/the suggestion about taking a picture -- or scanning things like awards or drawings or programs.
If you have, say, clothing or other fabric items that have sentimental value but can no longer be worn or used, what about saving a swatch of the fabric? Maybe even making a quilt or throw out of them? I've seen some impressive-looking t-shirt quilts. (Of course, this assumes a quilt would be a useful item for you.)
I ask myself, "How does this make me feel?" If the answer isn't some version of joyous, I get rid of it. I have no reason to keep things that make me feel bad.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-02 06:33 pm (UTC)One suggestion I've heard is to take a picture, and keep the picture instead of the item.
And sometimes I've thrown out what I can, and left the rest still in the box, revisited it in a year, and been more able to get rid of more things.
Last year threw out this pillow I'd had as a little girl. I'll repost a reflection on what that was like for me, in case that's helpful.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 12:24 am (UTC)In my area, I can put a box outside with a FREE sign on it. The items will all be gone within a few hours (I live near a university, and there is a lot of pedestrian traffic). This is a great way to unload items too peculiar or old for Goodwill, but which do not fall into the category of garbage.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-02 06:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-02 07:02 pm (UTC)The other trick I learned is to put things in this category in a box and put the box somewhere out of the way, like in the basement or the back of a closet. If you really need something close to you, you'll go back and get it out. If you don't, and it's been in the box for a year, you can just get rid of the box - don't even open it before you get rid of it or you'll just go through this all over again.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-02 07:22 pm (UTC)Keepsakes also have categories - family heirlooms, and things remembered. For example, I have a set of Bavarian china cups and saucers that belonged to my great-grandmother, or possibly one before that. They are beautiful, but were very seldom used because they are fragile, and not very large. My family drinks coffee in quantity, not as an after-dinner rite. My mother would be very upset if I got rid of them. I would feel a bit of guilt as well, although I've never used them since they came to me. This kind of thing is hard to deal with, but if you have just a few of these things they can be managed.
What's difficult is things remembered from childhood. Books, of course, are a category in themselves, and have issues other than keepsakes. But keepsakes of memory are a problem. My SO insists on keeping a couple of cloth napkins printed with strawberries. His sister foisted them on us when we cleared his family's house, but the SO remembers the napkins being used when his mother decided to set a fancy table, and says he's seen them all his life. I have a little decorative pitcher that I remember from my childhood that I am keeping, so far. The number has to be kept down, and limited to reason. I recently threw away some glass jam jars I kept because they were an unusual shape, and I thought I would use them to keep herbs or spices, or something like that. I did not use them much, but they had been around, moving from place to place, for 30 years. I was keeping them because I continued to believe they would some day be useful, and they were pretty to look at, and they reminded me of the time in my life I was into that sort of life and decorative kitchen. The jam company, I think it was Crabtree and Evelyn, does not use that sort of jar now, so they had become irreplaceable in my mind.
This became more of babble than I intended. Maybe I need to think about a post as well
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 01:51 am (UTC)Why don't you ask your mother if she wants them? If she's not willing to store them for some unspecified future, why should you?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-03 04:16 am (UTC)If you have, say, clothing or other fabric items that have sentimental value but can no longer be worn or used, what about saving a swatch of the fabric? Maybe even making a quilt or throw out of them? I've seen some impressive-looking t-shirt quilts. (Of course, this assumes a quilt would be a useful item for you.)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 11:08 am (UTC)