Tips for Keeping the Keepsakes
Kids artwork
We all love it right? The cute little handprints made into some fun animal, the all about me projects and best of all those such as a robot made from recyclable materials are all so special and so important to those tiny hearts who make them. Here are a few of the ways I have handled these items.
- Cut the handprints down smaller and add to a scrapbook
- Take a picture of your child holding the project to have as a memory
- Put your child in charge of the keepsakes! The most upsetting seemed to be them finding a piece of their beloved artwork in the trash. I created one box with a lid for each child and it was up to them to decide what to keep and what to toss but the box could only hold so much.
Memorabilia
If you have children who play sports or participate in any type of competitive activity then you know what I’m talking about. Before long my kids rooms were overwhelmed with trophies, medals, homerun balls and of course the tournament t-shirt. Not only do these items take up space but most also need to be dusted regularly! You might have to have some tough mom love on this one because kids love the trophies!
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- Trophies, especially for participation were hard to get rid of. I often felt so wasteful. Here is a link I found with some info on recycling old trophies. Also check with your local award shop to see if recycling is an option. I removed the plaques from any trophies which were earned and had visions of adding to a frame or something of the such but that has never happened.
- All the t-shirts! Good gracious my kids loved a t-shirt to represent every tournament they ever played in along with school shirts. Making a T-shirt quilt is such a great idea and this is on my list for 2017 to finally have this done or make the decision to toss the t-shirts. I’m looking at Project Repat for my kids shirts. Even though it is not the actual quilted look I would prefer I think at this point having it completed at a price I feel is reasonable is worth it.
- Shadow box frames can be a great way to save a memory. Riley had quite the baseball career beginning with high school state championship runner up. We framed his high school jersey along with the other special mementos and did the same for both years TCU played in the College World Series. They will be really nice for him to have in his own home or an office one day.
- Baby Clothes and items such as special blankets are another I have limited to one box.
- Greeting cards are another tough one especially if someone has written a special message. If you hate throwing away cards, you can actually recycle and help St. Jude. More info here. All Christmas cards are added to a dedicated Christmas book. I typcially will save the written words from other cards for birthdays, thank yous, etc and use in a scrapbook with a picture of the person or event. In the past I have just tossed the other side of the card but I will be saving these to recycle from now on.
Photo storage
- Digital Pictures! I really think this was easier when there was film and we were forced to develop and find a way to store immediately. Being able to take 30 of the same shot with digital film can become overwhelming. Currently I’m using a method Shay has discussed on her blog with the year|month(number)|event and it was a game changer to me. Before I was always so irritated at the sorting but this has worked well. I use Backblaze for the computer backup but also try to upload my pictures to Shutterfly at the end of each month.
- Printed Pictures I try to sort chronologically in anticipation for scrapbooking. Yes, I am still trying to live that dream. The hardest part for me was tossing pictures that were printed, even duplicates. If you don’t LOVE the picture, toss it. Carly received her dance pictures last year and her smile was just totally off. She was adamant multiple times that she just hated it so I tossed them. School packages are the worst too with all those extra prints! I use to save tons “just in case” they needed one for a school project but I’ve been tossing those too.
- Home movies and negatives is definitely another area I’m working to make progress on in 2017. I found a Groupon for Legacy Box and have ordered my first. I have so many home movies on VHS tapes that I’ve been afraid to watch for so long in fear of ruining them. The box is definitely taking up much more space than a digital copy plus we never pull them out. I’m so hopeful this will be a great solution! They also transfer negatives to digital files and I’m not sure if I will go that route or purchase a converter myself. Time is definitely always a factor here.
Gifts from Grandma
Admittedly this was always the hardest for me. Saying goodbye to one of the 100 pieces of artwork my kids brought home was a no brainer but getting rid of a gift or trinket I received from a special person or for a special occasion was always hard.
In came the book from Peter Walsh, It’s All Too Much
This was such a moment for me! How meaningful was something if it was sitting in a cabinet or a drawer just taking up space. Sometimes it is simply a matter of space and preference too. I had tons of crystal bowls and platters and we are just not the crystal bowl type. There are so many resources online to help you evaluate the value of figurines and such and it can really help evaluate whether something is worth keeping.
All this being said, sometimes it is just hard to let go. I have box upon box of pictures my dad took while he was off working all around the country that basically are a story I was not a part of but every time I open that box I can still smell my dad and I just can’t throw it out.
So how do you keep the keepsakes for your family?
To read more Nuggets for the New Year posts visit Decluttering and Tips to Budget Like a Queen.
So hard for me to part with the duplicates and I don't know why. I used to be so good at organizing pictures and I still scrapbook but all the other pics are still in the sleeves, I Will do better and I did toss school pic extras, thank goodness. These are such great tips, going to save this one!! Happy week ahead!!
Great tips. Olivia needs some tips on letting certain things go! She has bag of cut up paper that are "so special" she can't part with 😉
haha….Riley still has a toolbox full of rocks he couldn't part with girl so I totally get it! Now..if I can get him into his own house that would be great!!
I seriously need to make a dent on the pictures….when my grandmother moved to assisted living all of her pictures and memorabilia came to my house. My dad had a sister and a brother who did not have any children so I have all of their things too an I struggle with tossing things that were not mine.
Oooh the Legacy box sounds interesting!! My nephew is working on transferring our families old pics and films to DVD. It's a big job!!
I have never heard of Legacy Box, but man is that handy! These are all great tips, Shelly! Last year I purged tons of old keepsakes and it felt great, but I still have SO MANY MORE. I think I'm going to do a round 2 this year, because who really needs 3 giant shoe boxes of old notes passed in class with their girlfriends?!
The one thing I'm so bad at and need to get in check is photos. I have nothing backed up and need to get that figured out.
Confession: on top of the cabinets over my fridge is a mound of artwork that is hidden to the world. I really need to get things under control, especially up there.
Oh girl, this is the ONE thing I have got to get a handle on this year. I have several rubbermaid totes of the girls art and school work (they told me I could throw out the cheerio ar a couple years ago :-0 and old photos. And, I need to organize the digital ones on the computer. I told hubby this was the year to get someone to transfer all the old negatives to dvds!!! And, don't EVEN get me started on the t-shirts. I don't have any stored away as I didn't attend college, but hubby and the girls??? It's insane. I did a post about it a long time ago and they have more than doubled since then.
Oh my, I don't even know where to start- you have so much goodness here! i think i will focus on my digital photography organization first!
I am going to have to check out Project Repat, I have a ton of sorority t-shirts I want made into a quilt. I've been storing them for years! You are so clever!
I'm so disorganized with keepsakes… feels like I wait too long and then don't even know where to start. Maybe I should have you organized ladies come and reorganize all my stuff lol
I have to go through so many boxes of family photos and heirlooms, but I just keep putting it off. Seems too big of a job to handle! But I appreciate these tips. I'll take any ideas I can get!
Shauna
http://www.lipglossandlace.net
Soooo many great suggestions here. I'm very slowly trying to get all my keepsakes organized. When my mother in law passed away, we brought so many things from her home, so that added to the problem. I really like the idea of displaying/using it, or giving it away. Thanks for so many great ideas!
What do you do when your iphone is photos are full? Is there a place I can store them that isn't on the computer? We had a computer crash a few years ago and I lost many photos of the kids.
Kathy, I would upload to the computer and then transfer over to Shutterfly or some other online site.
It really is just all too much Lauren…but my momma refused to ever throw anything away and it just piled up at her house. I'm probably so proactive because I do not want to leave a bunch behind that my kids will have to deal with when I'm gone someday.
Oh those sweet spaces that make it easy to hide our crazy messes right?!!
Backing up is super important but I failed at it forever. My old computer started dying about a year ago and I was no longer able to get the pictures off the computer. It really sucked!
Lol……I still have a few things from high school and junior high that are so special. I definitely need to address a few things….maybe I'll have time soon when I quit having fun.
I have so many videos of my oldest two that are on VHS tapes. I can't wait to receive my box and send my tapes in!
I really need something easy that I can jump on and move forward Kellyann. I received an email with a discount code and went ahead and purchased two!! Eek..now I've got until May 1st to send the t-shirts in. 🙂
I hear ya. My MIL is 98 and has a house crammed with 60+ years of STUFF! And, I know my hubby won't have a clue as to where to even begin when it comes time to go through it all. I have finally convinced my parents to go through their things now and label important boxes!
Lana it can just be so overwhelming! I was thinking as we walked through the Mob Museum in Vegas….we all should have a family museum where all this crap goes to be chronicled and stored..hahaha