Whether you need to get rid of your kids’ things or your own childhood memorabilia, letting go of keepsakes and special items is hard! But, by answering a few questions and learning a simple process, you’ll know how to declutter sentimental items in a straightforward way.

“Would you just zip me up?” I asked my 7-year-old daughter as I stood in front of a full-length mirror at my parents’ house.

For a few seconds, we stared at my reflection. I held my breath so I wouldn’t bust open the seams of the shiny blue dress with a lace collar that would make Ruth Bader Ginsberg proud.

Then my daughter just couldn’t hold her laughter any longer.

“MOMMY! You look SO silly!”

I’d love to show you the photo of me, age 41, wearing my 8th-grade school dance dress lovingly sewn by my grandma. But then that photo would live on the internet forever.

So, you’ll just have to trust me that it was quite a sight.

Why did my mom keep that dress – along with a neatly-labeled plastic bin of my childhood dresses – in the attic for so long?

What’s sentimental clutter and why’s it so hard to part with?

The box of dresses reminded my mom of special moments in my childhood, and now that I’m a parent, I understand. Keepsakes and memorabilia are the toughest things to declutter.

A lifetime of clutter gets me down because I don’t want to get rid of memories.

A No Pressure Life survey response

Are you helping your parents to downsize, and sorting through your old childhood bedroom?

Are you struggling to decide which of your kids’ masterpieces or toys to keep?

Either way, if you take away nothing else from this article, please let it be this:

Memories are in your mind. Stuff is in your house. You can’t throw away memories.

Sentimental things evoke an emotional response, especially a sense of nostalgia. When you see or hold that item, you’re reminded of a person, place, or time in your life that’s memorable to you.

Sentimental clutter is having more of those items than you can reasonably display or use in your home.

That’s an important distinction because you can absolutely hold onto keepsakes and memorabilia without them becoming clutter.

You Can’t Keep Everything

Were you ever caught in the act of throwing away your kid’s stuff? I remember feeling like the meanest mommy in the world.

Even though I know decluttering all those papers is the right thing to do, my kids have a different opinion.

They think everything is important, from an art project they worked hard on, to a pebble they found in a friend’s driveway. Decluttering toys is especially tough, but with a little encouragement, it can be done.

How to Declutter Sentimental Things: Questions to Ask Yourself

Decluttering sentimental items is easier if you try to set your emotions aside and honestly answer a few questions.

If need to get rid of sentimental clutter because you have too much stuff in your house, then the only way to get through it is to be brutally truthful with yourself.

What memories match the item?

Is it a feeling? A person? A particular moment? Sometimes, we end up with stuff that reminds us of a time or person in our life that wasn’t great. Don’t keep something if the memory doesn’t spark joy.

Are you worried about insulting the memory of someone who passed away?

When you’re dead, you’re dead.

My Grandma, March 1905 – September 2005

Newsflash: You can’t make a dead person upset. Because, well, they’re dead.

Did you inherit your great-aunt’s collection of porcelain figurines? Unless you love them and proudly display them, it’s ok to let them go. She can’t get mad at you.

List them on eBay or sell them at a garage sale and allow some other porcelain figurine aficionado to enjoy them.

Are you actively using the thing?

If you use your mom’s old 1970’s fondue set for your own parties (I do!), serve Thanksgiving turkey on your grandmother’s favorite platter, or proudly display grandpa’s medals, then please – continue enjoying them.

If those things are in a box in your basement and haven’t seen the light of day since you moved into your house a decade ago, then why are you keeping them?

It’s time to use them, display them thoughtfully, or let them go.

Is this thing taking up space that could be used by something you like more or use more?

Whether it’s a piece of furniture or a knick-knack, if it’s not your style or doesn’t function for your family, you’re under no obligation to keep it. There’s someone else who might be searching Craigslist right now for that very item.

What’s the WORST thing that would happen if you got rid of it? Be brutally honest.

Are you worried about making yourself sad or regret giving the item away? Even if happy memories are tied to your sentimental clutter, if you aren’t using or displaying them then it’s time to take a picture. Frame that picture and hang it proudly where you’re sure to enjoy it every day.

Decluttering Sentimental Things Doesn’t Have to Be Painful

If you’re still struggling with how to declutter sentimental items, remember that it’s not your responsibility to hold on to other people’s stuff. You can prevent accumulating it in the first place by saying no when someone tries to give you stuff you can’t use.

As for my dress from 8th grade – I asked my mom if she’d tossed it yet, and she hasn’t. But it’s time. Not only did the dress make me feel pretty when I was young, I shared the moment again with my daughter many years later. The time’s come to let it go (cue Elsa’s song).

Check out these other decluttering tips:

• Find Motivation to Declutter with Simple Strategies that Work
• How to Declutter Toys in a Day Without Yelling at Your Kids
• What to Declutter in March