Decluttering – treasured keepsakes

It’s my birthday today, which gives me full dispensation to be as sentimental as I want (it’s my birthday and I’ll cry if I want to!).

Today is also the last day of this month’s 30 Day Minimalism Game that I’ve been playing along with a clutter-busting gang of friends, including Jeska, Katy, Melanie, and Hannah. While I’m super-proud of how much I’ve got rid of, I came across a bag of things that made me stop and pause. It was a shopping bag that my mum dropped off on a recent visit (my parents’ version of decluttering basically involves giving the stuff they don’t want anymore to us so we have to deal with it instead). I get my hoarding tendencies from my mum and dad, but on this occasion I was so grateful for their inability to get rid of things, because when I went through the bag the other evening, it was full of the most wonderful keepsakes. My old exercise books from primary school, school diaries, artwork from when I was a toddler (carefully labelled with the date), letters and postcards I’d written, and even a pile of the new baby cards my parents were sent when I was born (hence today’s birthday sentimentality).

The piece of writing above, written when I was about seven or eight I think, was about what I liked doing best. I think it still sums me up pretty well today, nearly 30 years later.

I have been hoarding away so much of the twins’ artwork, notes, school books, certificates, and it’s one thing that I haven’t yet tackled in my decluttering drive. The joy I got looking through my own things from a similar age, and the overwhelming sense of my mum’s love and pride in me, has made me think hard about what I keep and what I get rid of. I need to take my time to go through everything I’ve saved so far, and cherry pick those things that I think offer a priceless insight into each child’s character and interests at that snapshot in time. Because one day, it will be them going through the box of things, and I really hope that they get as much delight, pleasure and comfort from the precious contents as I have.

Sentimental items aside, I have absolutely loved the motivation the Minimalism Game has given me, so I’ll be following up very soon with a post celebrating how much we’ve achieved in the last month.