One day, my daughter pulled a piece of paper out of my open cedar chest. It was a preschool art project. I thought she’d be pleased I had saved it! No; she asked, “Why did you save that, mom?” What was I supposed to say? It represented a milestone in her life! She laughed, told me to toss it.

Typical? Yes. We all save things for their sentimental value; things that seem meaningless to others. What do we do with those treasures? This is a conundrum many of my senior clients face. Here are some ideas.

KEEP only those that are most meaningful to you. Store them in a box, label and save. Let your family keep or discard the rest.

CREATE a scrapbook for children, relatives, or even yourself. Weave stories around the photos and items.

SAVE old paper photos digitally and share.

CREATE a storybook about events, people, pets.

DISPLAY photos, memorabilia and other collections in shadow boxes.

RECORD a video tour of your home highlighting items you want to remember before donating or selling them. Narrate the story of your family home as you go.

SEW swatches of old clothes into a quilt.

You can be as creative as you feel while reducing your clutter and preserving your memories!

Photo by Brian Jones on Unsplash