For Sentimental Reasons: How to Store and Organize Items Kept for Posterity

Perhaps the only Pixie type who has little trouble letting go of things is the Classic Structure. (They are perfect, after all — wait, no they’re not!)

The rest of us mortals struggle— to varying degrees— with purging. Yes, we are using the “P” word. Because when it comes to decluttering and house organization, in order to make way for things like retrieval and one-step solutions (see our earlier article on the Pixie Principles for details), you’ve got to get used to purging the things that are only taking up space. Those old hockey skates that have been sitting in your son’s closet for two years? They’re far too small for him, and they could come in handy for someone else (with a bit of blade sharpening, that is). Your daughter’s SAT notebooks (she’s now a sophomore in college) and books? Unless you can sell the books or give them to your neighbor’s teenager, into the bin they go!

But… wait. Those skates won your son the junior championship in 2016. And the notebooks, those represent days and months of careful studying by your conscientious daughter, making for an extremely high score and proud moments you won’t soon forget. You can see the dilemma here. If purging and decluttering are first steps to properly organizing your home, how in the heck are you supposed to navigate through the sweet puddles of sentimentality (that threaten to keep you stuck)? In this article, we’ll outline some organizational solutions to this (somewhat sticky) issue.

What and When to Purge

It’s a good idea to schedule regular purges, say annually or even seasonally. There are times, however, that purging is forced upon us: moving, divorcing a longtime spouse or a death in the family. In these cases, don’t take on this task alone. Hire a professional organizer to help you get rid of what you don’t need or want and organize the things you’d like to keep. Particularly in the case of losing a loved one, this step can be a lifesaver. It can be an intensely painful experience to sift through your loved one’s belongings, and if you give a few ground rules to the expert and step away, it could make the whole process easier. Of course, if you’d like to go through each and every item yourself, that is fine too— just don’t put undue time constraints on yourself. Grieving takes time, and it’s best to be somewhat emotionally prepared when the time is right. As far as what to purge, that is subjective. However, papers that are over 7 years old can usually be tossed. Broken furniture or clothing that is otherwise unwearable due to stains, tears and unfixable defects are fair game for the garbage bin. In the instance of purging, it is best to focus on what is useful in your present day life, and what is just clutter.

Later Boxes

If you are the type who absolutely cannot part with that bar mitzvah outfit or baptism dress (or hockey skates), we suggest making something we like to call a ‘Later Box’. Fill this with everything that gives you pause when purging. If you’re on the fence, put it in the box. You can come and review the contents ‘later’— hence the name. Meanwhile, you’ll know that those skates are safe in a box in your attic, to be either kept or thrown out when the time is right. What having a ‘Later Box’ does is give you some time to both detach from the item and the decision of throwing it out or not. In six months when you head up to grab the winter coats, you can look at the box and make a decision as to when to go through it. If it’s now, great. If you want to wait another 6 months, the box will still be there.

Storage Units

Storage units are best in the instance of a loved one’s passing, simply because they offer a separate space that is relegated to the belongings of the deceased. Many people aren’t ready to go through the personal belongings of their loved one for quite some time following a death, but would consider it equally painful to keep those belongings — clothing, furniture, and personal items— around to see every day. We knew a group of sisters who didn’t go through their mother’s belongings until close to eight months after her death, simply because it was too painful. Instead, they had a professional organizer come to their mother’s house and move everything into a storage unit. When the time came to empty the unit, the sisters were emotionally ready to make the tough decisions— and they weren’t so tough after some time had gone by, they found.

Purging: It’s Non-negotiable

It might seem like the worst activity in the world, but purging is an inevitable part of staying organized. Luckily there are ways of doing it that don’t involve everything being tossed into the trash immediately. Give yourself time to prepare for purging with the suggestions and tools above, and chances are, it’ll make purging that much easier when the time comes.