Trying to declutter but having a hard time getting rid of anything because everything brings back a flood of memories?

Welcome to the next video in the Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tip series. In today’s episode I am going to give you some tips on letting go of items that are weighing you down but are hard to let go of  because they have sentimental value.

An important idea to hold in your mind as you make decisions is that the item is not the person you love, it is not the memory, or the love.  It is just an object that brings those thoughts to the front of your mind.

So as you start to go through sentimental clutter ask yourself the questions from last week remembering the anything you don’t have a use for or room to display is probably clutter.

So here are some ideas to help you decide what to keep.

1. Take photos of the items that bring up good memories.  When you are done decluttering create a photo album online and print it out as a coffee table book.

2. Keep the best of the best.  Keep one small box of baby things and donate the rest.  Keep 10 teacups that you have room to display and let the rest go

3. Share the wealth!  Are there others in your family that might enjoy some of the sentimental items?  Or good friends that would love to have something from you. Or people in need?

4. You can make something useful out of the items.  For example there are companies that will change your t-shirts into a quilt.

One last note. Just because an item was a gift do not mean that you have to keep it.  The giver did not give you the gift to weigh you down. they gave it to you because they care about you and that doesn’t change whether you have or don’t have their gift.

What do you think?  What ways have you used to let go of sentimental items?  Leave a comment below.