Nostalgia for our past can feel warm and loving. It also can be an invisible rope that tightly binds us to what we own. Our long term memory acts as our bridge to the past. Keepsakes and memorabilia connect us to our own earlier life experiences and to those of our ancestors. They act as prompt for our fading memory. Yet, when deciding to keep an item, we fail to consider how much of our time in the future each object will require.

So, how do we end up with so many items in our cupboards, attics, basements, long term storage? We inherit items passed onto us by family members. We’re also compelled to collect memento as we have children, travel, explore, celebrate, mourn, and grow. In effort retain (and possibly recreate) the emotions experienced during an event, we decide to store objects with little thought to their impact on our future time and overall living environment.

Revisiting these items and their stories takes time. Sitting with and processing the emotions associated with each memory can be fulfilling or emotionally draining. Anticipating this highly emotional experience, we delay making decisions about memorabilia until the very end of life. The videos in this series are by no means comprehensive, yet they document a few of the questions I posed and coached myself on when downsizing during the summer of 2021.

Click on the “Guidelines” icon to download my printable resource.

If you’re overwhelmed with grief or paralyzed by the thought of making decisions around mementos, ask for help.

There’s absolutely no reason why you should go through this process alone.