Top Tips for Sentimental Clutter

If you asked me what is the most difficult type of clutter to deal with, my answer would absolutely be the sentimental clutter.  I can easily get rid of practical things because I can turn right around and replace it if I declutter something I actually need.  But the sentimental stuff?  It's irreplaceable– cue the pressure to make the right decision!  If you want my top tips on how to deal with sentimental clutter, then keep reading, or check out the video here.

Start with Other Types of Clutter

If you're just beginning your decluttering journey, please do NOT start with sentimental clutter, LOL!  Don't head up to the attic and deal with things that have memories attached from 20 years ago.  It will just be the absolute hardest thing to do!

Instead, start with practical things like how you somehow ended up with three staplers!  If you get rid of a stapler and regret it, you can just go buy another.  Exercise your declutter muscles on something with lower stakes first, and then work up to the sentimental stuff because that clutter comes with harder questions and more pressure to get it right!

Ignore Other People's Opinions

When it comes to sentimental clutter, the only opinion that matters is your own!  Items have different levels of importance for different people.  For example, one thing a lot of minimalists tend to declutter (happily) is a wedding dress.  It's an item you will never wear again.  It takes up a lot of space.  It's definitely something you don't “need.”  Often it doesn't even fit anymore, LOL!

But I cannot imagine getting rid of mine.  I'm happily married and love my dress.  I took so long choosing it carefully.  It made me feel absolutely beautiful, and looking at it brings all those happy emotions back.  I also want my daughter to be able to try it on someday.  She'll probably never wear it for her own, which is totally fine.  But I remember trying on my mother's (yellowed!) wedding dress, and I had an absolute blast!  I wouldn't trade that memory for more space in my closet or for no boxes under the bed or in the attic.  Maybe you would, though– the point is, we're all different, and we shouldn't let anyone else's opinion influence us on the sentimental stuff.

The other tough thing about decluttering sentimental things is that by definition, they can't be replaced.  Will you regret getting rid of something?  Only you know.  But you should reaaaallllly take your time in decluttering these things because you can't get them back, and it can be heartwrenching if you make the wrong choice.

I know someone who deeply regrets shredding old journals.  I myself ran across some journals I kept in my teen years.  When I got rid of them, I felt totally fine about it.  I only wrote in them when I was processing big emotions, so they weren't really a good representation of “me,” and I wouldn't really want my daughter to read them or anything.  So it's also fine to let go of sentimental things if you don't have that much attachment.  The point is to just approach this decluttering with a lot of caution.  Give yourself LOTS of time to decide with no pressure.

Questions to Ask Yourself

The questions for sentimental clutter are different than the usual ones.  Normally we ask:

1. Do I use the item?
2. Is it beautiful?
3. Does it make me happy?
4. Does it serve a purpose for me that nothing else does?

For sentimental clutter, we may never actually “use” the item, and if it's kid's artwork, it may not really be all that beautiful, LOL!!  So here's what I tend to ask myself:

What's going to happen to this item?  I did a video once about Swedish Death Cleaning.  It sounds ominous, but basically it's all about dealing with your possessions before you die so that your “stuff” doesn't become something that your loved ones are forced to deal with for you.  It can be enjoyable to pass things on to others and see them blessed while you can enjoy watching them have the item.

Will my kids care about this at all?  If it's from my own grandparents that they never met, then the odds are they won't really care because there's no sentimental attachment to those people.  If it's something I've used and talked about, though, then they might care, because then they attach memories to me.

Can I use this item?  If it's antique china, for example, could you move it from the attic to your cabinet and actually use the item on special occasions?  Most of the time, even if there's a risk of breaking something, it's better to use it and enjoy it.  If it's sitting in a box in the attic, it's pretty useless.  And it can get broken in moving or a house accident or something anyway.  If you love it enough to keep it, you should try to find a way to enjoy it!  If it's birthday cards, can you put them in an album or scan them so you can look at them more regularly?

Can I cut the collection down to a smaller sample?  Sometimes we have a huge collection but only a few favorite pieces.  If you have 50 pieces of antique jewelry from your grandmother, could you choose your ten favorites and put them in your jewelry box?  Or frame them in a shadow box so you could see them every day?  Sometimes we just need to keep our favorites and let the rest go.

Take a Photo

Sometimes we can let the physical item go and just take a photo.  I do this with kids' clothes.  I don't know why, but I have a huge attachment to kids' clothes, and I would keep a ton if I let myself.  What I started doing instead is being sure I take a picture of my kids in my favorite outfits of theirs.  I attach so much more meaning to it with them in it, LOL!

Pictures have really helped me be able to let go of the physical clothes.  I still do keep very few of the really special ones.  I have the outfit that my daughter went home from the hospital in (the same one I came home in as a baby!).  In fact, the other day she asked about it, and I was able to pull it out along with a few other of her baby clothes, and we had a great time looking at it.

This was only possible because I had a smaller amount, though.  If it was in a huge box in the attic, we'd probably never get around to looking at it.  But because it's in a smaller, easily accessible box, we got to enjoy it.  So– have less, but make it more accessible!

Declutter During the Sweet Spot of Time

I've never heard this tip before, but it's crucial for me to be able to declutter stuff, especially things from my kids.  Don't try to declutter right away.  If they've just given you a card that says I love you, or a drawing, then there's NO WAY you'll be able to part with it.  The emotions are high.  If you wait 15 years, everything becomes precious.  They were so little!

So here's my sweet spot: 3 months to 1 year.  I've found that gives me enough time to detach a little from the immediate emotions.  But they're also not so old that they're rocket scientists, and I'm looking at their math facts test, LOL.

If you go through the sentimental stuff as it comes in, it won't pile up.  You'll have a much easier time letting go.  You should still keep the important stuff, but some of the “meh” stuff will naturally get decluttered if you don't wait too long to deal with it.

Finally– there are no rules here.  If you have the space in your attic for boxes of sentimental stuff, and it makes you happy to have it there, then by all means, keep it.  But if you don't like it there, and it bugs you in the back of your mind, or if you literally do not have the space, then you should probably deal with it and try to reduce.

There is no right or wrong answer on the sentimental stuff, though.  We're all in different places and have had different things (sometimes traumatic) happen to us.  If you feel like you need to keep something, then keep it until you're ready to deal with it.  Give yourself some space and grace, and do what feels right for YOU.

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