by Ainsley Lawrence,
Contributing Author, Conscious Reminder
Image Source: Pexels
Adopting a more minimalist, organized space is a great way to be more mindful in your home and alleviate stress.
However, while it might be easy to toss out the junk cluttering your home, it’s much harder to get rid of sentimental items.
The problem is that personal items in our homes are often tied to memories, which can make it difficult to part ways with them. The fear is often that if we throw these items away, we are somehow throwing the memory away, too — but that’s simply not the case. Discarding a material object will not erase the cherished memories associated with it.
There comes a time when you have to decide what objects are truly worth keeping and which ones are just taking up physical space and cluttering your home. It’s a difficult task, but if you go into it with mindfulness and care, you can make it happen.
Organized Home, Organized Mind
Before you get right down to sorting through everything, it helps if you view the decluttering process as a form of spiritual practice. It’s not about the physical act of getting rid of items, it’s about how the process can make you feel.
By learning to let go of certain things, it can teach you how to be more mindful of what really matters in life. Stuff and physical objects aren’t what matter, but rather our experiences and memories. Cleaning out your home can also help you feel happier and more relaxed in your space when there is less clutter.
Additionally, there are numerous benefits of adopting a more minimalist mindset and organizing your home, such as teaching you to live more consciously and economically. Cleaning out your home also helps you live more efficiently and makes cleaning much easier. It also creates more space in your home, making it much easier to move around.
Deciding What to Keep: How to Sort Through Sentimental Items
Of course, the hard part is when it comes time to actually decide what sentimental items to keep and what to toss. However, as difficult as it might feel to give up emotional objects, allowing them to clutter your home will end up doing more harm than good.
Determine What’s Truly Worth Keeping
As you start, hold each item and give it some thought. Ask yourself why exactly this item holds sentimental value. If it’s because it’s attached to a certain person, place, or time in your life, you can still retain that memory without needing to hold onto the physical object. However, if the object itself truly means something to you and it “sparks joy” as the great Marie Kondo says, then you can hold onto it.
Get Rid of Your Guilt
As you go through your items, it helps if you can release yourself from guilt. Often, people hold onto objects because they feel guilty about tossing them out. For example, if the object was a gift from someone special, you might feel guilty because throwing it out might make it seem like you are dismissing that person’s feelings.
Again, this is usually because the object is tied to thoughts and feelings associated with that person, which is what brings you joy, rather than the object itself. Giving yourself permission to get rid of that object can free you from guilt and remind you of what really matters, which is your connection to that person or place and not the object itself.
Say Goodbye with Gratitude
Another thing Marie Kondo teaches is that thanking your items before getting rid of them helps. It might feel silly at first, but it genuinely helps if you are struggling with guilt. Thank the item for the purpose it has served and then let it go. This will help you feel more joy and contentment as you sort through your items and decide which ones to toss.
What to Do with the Items You Don’t Keep
Just because you aren’t keeping old sentimental objects for yourself doesn’t mean they have to go straight into the trash. Finding a new home for these items can help you let go of them because you’ll know that they will become special to someone else.
You can gift the items to someone instead of tossing them out or you can hand them down to younger family members as an heirloom. You can also donate your items.
There are many places where you can donate your sentimental objects so they can go to someone else in need, such as the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Goodwill, Once Upon a Child, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Depending on where you live, there might be many other organizations that take used items for donation — a simple Google search can help you find a location.
Storing and Organizing Your Beloved Items
Of course, there will likely be some sentimental objects that hold too much value for you to part with. Once you have decided what to keep, you should find a way to store these objects so you can easily see or access them. This will help you create a more organized space.
If you are storing collectibles, you’ll want to do so in a way that keeps them safe. Old edition books, for example, should be kept in plastic sleeves and stored away from direct sunlight. Stamps, cards, and rare coins should also be stored in protective sleeves and kept in low-humidity areas of the home. Photos should be kept away from moisture as well and stored in boxes that don’t let in light to avoid fading.
For items you want to keep but that don’t need to be kept where you can see them every day, store them in plastic bins and label them. This will make it easy to find and access them when you do want to pull them out. For items you do want to see, organize them on bookshelves or in display cases. This will help keep your home clutter-free while still allowing you to enjoy the presence of your sentimental objects.
Wrapping Up
Giving yourself permission to let sentimental objects go can help you create a more organized, stress-free home. You should not feel guilty about getting rid of items that are simply taking up space. Only hold on to those items that truly bring you joy and let someone else find joy in the rest by donating or gifting them to others.
About the Author: Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer with an interest in balanced living through education and technology. She loves travelling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.
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