I’ve always been a pack-rat. A few years ago, while I was home during a school break, I found a box with all of my old letters – including every valentine that I received during all of elementary school. I can’t even remember if I ended up recycling them! Clearly, getting rid of sentimental clutter is not natural for me. 

I come by this desire to hold onto sentimental items rightly, as my whole family really values trinkets and leftovers from the past. This year my parents finally decided to tackle their sentimental clutter, which has filled almost a whole storage unit since they downsized in 2019. They took on this project (which we knew was going to be massive!) without me, but approached the project with skills that we honed from organizing together. While purging sentimental items can be emotionally draining, it is also an opportunity to revisit beautiful memories and reprioritize your needs in your space. 

Evaluate Your Motivation 
Are you decluttering for a specific reason? Consider your reason for taking on this project: maybe you are hoping to move to a smaller space, a relative recently passed away, or you are hoping to grow your family. Understanding and acknowledging your reason for letting go of sentimental items before you start the process will allow you to feel more comfortable in tackling the challenging parts. 

Prioritize What You Will Keep
In another step that doesn’t involve sorting or purging, take some time to decide in advance what is most important to you. For example, my parents decided before they started to sort pictures that they wanted to keep all the negatives so that they could be scanned in the future. This way, they have less attachment to individual photos even if they have sentimental value. You may want to save a certain type of item for a project or a family member that will allow you to let go of larger groups of other items. 

Sort & Purge
Start out your active work by sorting your items into categories. For sentimental items, these categories may be letters & cards, clothing items, books & papers, and antiques. Every collection is different, so be sure to create the appropriate categories for your specific needs. 

Once you have your categories, it is time to purge. I suggest creating four boxes as you purge: Keep, Task, Trash, and Donate. A task box is a place to store items that you want to do something with – repair, share with a loved one, or sell. By creating a separate task box you will be able to maintain order in your “Keep” box and only keep items that you really value as they are. 

I always default to holding onto any item that makes me feel a positive emotion when I hold it, but I have been working on letting go after expressing gratitude. I find the KonMari approach to sentimental items to be incredibly helpful: you hold each item individually and experience the emotions that it brings to you. Once you have decided that it has served you well, you can express gratitude for the item and let it go. It is always easier to choose if you should donate or throw away an item once you have made the decision to say goodbye. 

Different Ways to Keep
You can also take a photo of an item that means a lot to you and file it in a virtual photo album. My mom texted me photos of letters and knick knacks that she found while sorting that she thought I would enjoy so that we could share the memory, even though she may not have held onto the item itself. If you want to do an initial purge of your photos and documents, you can always plan to take a secondary step by photographing or scanning your items to hold onto them digitally. This website will also transfer photos of artwork or memorabilia into a book that you can save instead.

TLD Tip: Depending on where you want to store your memorabilia, weathertight bins like these will help keep your items safe from dust and moisture. 

Give Yourself Grace
While you may enter this project with a hope to clear out all of your clutter, it is okay if you struggle to let go of certain things. Prioritize the items that you care about most and find a way to store them safely so that they can bring you and your family joy for years to come. You should revisit your organized, sentimental items on a regular basis to let go of items that no longer serve you. Getting organized is a lifelong process and being kind to yourself is a key piece of it.