For today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to share about how difficult it is to declutter sentimental items. On my YouTube channel I shared the process of cleaning out our attic space and decluttering sentimental items and last week I shared a video of my daughter and I decluttering her sentimental items. It was tough. I wanted to share with you some tips before you start decluttering sentimental items.

Tip number one is don’t start with decluttering sentimental items. This should be one of the last categories of items you tackle when you are on a decluttering journey. I have been on a decluttering journey for several years, so I have truly built up my decluttering muscles before tackling this big project. Decluttering is a skill that is built over time and with practice. It does get easier over time to make decisions about what you want to keep and what you want to declutter. Saving sentimental items for last just makes sense because it is the most difficult thing to declutter.

The next tip I have is don’t rush. I ended up doing this project over the course of a few weeks. I can assure you since I just finished this project that going through your sentimental items is very emotionally and even mentally taxing. It takes a lot of time and energy to make decluttering decisions with regards to our sentimental items. Give yourself the time you need to not rush the decisions. Also, prepare to make multiple passes through your sentimental items. It is good to make multiple passes through all of our possessions, which is why you see an end of the month declutter with me video on my YouTube channel every month and I’ve been doing that series on my channel for years. But it is especially important when it comes to sentimental items. I will certainly make more passes through my sentimental items before we end up moving away from our current home and downsizing.

Another tip I wanted to share is to have a friend or family member help you talk through your sentimental items. It can be really helpful to talk through why you want to keep certain items. Having someone there with you in the process can give you an outside perspective and help you to balance the emotions with a more objective viewpoint. And honestly, sometimes it just helps to talk through things out loud.

The final tip I wanted to share is don’t get “lost in the weeds” so to speak. It can be easy to overthink things when trying to declutter sentimental items. Stay focused on one category at a time. Often our initial gut instinct on whether to keep or get rid of a sentimental item is the right one. It can be easy to go back and forth with this category of items because of that emotional component. Try your best to stay on task and not overthink each decision. I don’t mean to be morbid, but at the end of the day, what is important to you will likely not be as important to the next generations and none of us can take our stuff with us when we go!