February 02nd, 2017

When it comes to kid’s keepsakes…Keep it simple
​

​ Let Go of the Guilt
As a busy mother of three daughters, I spent many of those growing up years feeling guilty over not having had the time to perfectly preserve all of my girl’s memories and keepsakes.  Scrapbooks and albums went unfinished. Organized as I was, I still could not find the time to frame every memory and preserve every art project.  I knew I was not alone in my struggle, since every one of my friends with children seemed to carry around this same guilt.  I longed to have the time to create a beautiful scrapbook for every year of each of my daughter’s lives.  Let see, that’s how many scrapbooks …54?  Yikes!  

But then my organizing career led to a discovery that changed my perspective and alleviated much of my guilt.   Over the years, I noticed that a large number of my clients were empty nesters between the ages of 50 and 65.  Can you guess what organizing category these particular clients were often struggling with?  You got it... keepsakes!  Parents are often surprised and frustrated that their adult children have less interest in their childhood keepsakes than they thought they would.  I often hear… “I want it Mom, but um…can you store it for me?” If you end up with a storage room full of your children’s keepsakes by the time they are adults, chances are, they will not want to move all of it to their own home.  That amount will be too overwhelming for them to store. So, unless your goal is to end up with a basement full of your child’s stuff someday, you can spend less time worrying about capturing every single memory that your child creates. 

Be Selective
With that said, I am not suggesting that we throw out every memory either, of course we want to preserve the important ones.  So instead, be selective about what keepsakes and photos you collect.   A handful of scrapbooks and/or photo albums, and one or two boxes of keepsakes are all that your child will realistically want to store in their own basements someday as an adult.  I suggest setting a limit for each child’s keepsake collection that you are comfortable with and sticking to it.  As the years pass and the boxes get full, take time to go through them and weed out items that are less special to make room for more important ones.  Your child will no doubt be satisfied enjoying a sampling of childhood memories rather than every experience he or she has ever had.
 
Kid's Artwork
Kid’s artwork can accumulate at light speed as younger children grow.  Control the amount you keep by setting limits in this category as well.  Purchase a small plastic tote for each child and let them decide which artwork is kept and will go inside.  You may need to supervise younger children with this task as they may want to toss what you want to keep!   My girls go though their totes each summer and decide what to add and what to let go of.   The rule is that we can only keep enough to fit inside.  You can organize the totes by using dividers for each year if you choose or you can keep it simple and just toss everything in.  If you choose larger totes, I suggest storing artwork vertically to prevent compression damage to the artwork at the bottom of the pile.
 
Print Your Best Photos
As a fan of photographs, and of scrapbooking, I agree that it is wonderful to be able to occasionally reminisce through childhood photos. But there is no need to set up a museum of the past for your child.  Be selective about photos as well. These days we snap photos of everything, and our phones and computers are bursting at the seams.  Just because you have taken a photo, does not mean you have to use each one in an album.  Don’t burden yourself with that expectation, instead choose your favorite photos to print and preserve in a special way and let the rest stay in digital form.  Also, don't be afraid to delete the multitude of average to poor photos from your electronic devices. Keep scrapbooks simple as you design them and let go of perfection. Just getting the memories into a book is a victory.  To save time, you can also get help with online photo book design through websites such as; Snapfish or Shutterfly. Set a limit on the amount of albums and/or scrapbooks you spend time creating. As adults, we do not need an extensive library of photo albums for every year of our childhood. 

Focus More on Making Memories
Set reasonable and easily attainable goals for keeping and preserving memories. This will help you keep up as the years roll by and you’ll avoid beating yourself up about all that you’re not getting done.  Most importantly, keep in mind that the majority of our children’s memories will be held in their hearts, so focus more of your energy and time on playing with them and making special memories and less time worrying about capturing every single experience.  

Written by Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Professional Organizing Services

---