Memorabilia « Back to Group Discussions

[Paigekitten]

What do you keep and why?  I'm sorting through the stuff I do have, not a lot, but still a lot more then I want.  

I just threw away a bunch of pictures I drew as a kid, a high school year book, and I'm thinking about taking apart the scrapbooks (since I never look at them) and just scanning the pictures then throwing them away, but I am a little afraid I might regret it if I do.

Aside from paper, I am pretty good about only keeping objects as memories that I like and use in daily life.

[modestmothering]

I have a hard time keeping things.  But when I do keep them, a couple times a year I go through my belongings (files, materials, clothing, etc) and chisel it down more.  I used to keep pictures but then I scanned them all and keep them on an external virtual file. 

What I keep the most of is books and work clothes.  I suppose it's good advice to keep what means the most to you.

[accountclosed15]

I really do not have much of my own childhood memorabilia. My stuff was stored in a damp house with smokers where most of it was non salvagable. The rest reeked so bad even though I tried everything to clean it and de-smoke it. :)   For my son, I keep the really special things. I do have a bin for him. When he is old enough he can decide if he wants it. I am starting to scan things and make back up disks. I like to use the pics as my screen savers. I am making a blanket out of my son's clothes and I am doing it by hand. I want to learn to slow down and appreciate the more simple things in life. I do have a lot of pics and I have pared down quite a bit. I always back up everything.

I am not much of a collector, so nothing to save. It doesn't bother me. I carry my memories in my heart and I can look back at pics and relive and enjoy the moment. :)

[ziursrm]

Do you find that other people (family for example) get offended by your minimalism with memorabilia? My mom gets pretty miffed that I don't keep every drawing or craft project that my kids come home with from her house. I'm glad she loves to spend the creative time with them but I prefer to put it on the fridge for a week and then rotate it out with the next batch. She still has my crafts from preschool, but I just don't want to do that.

[Paigekitten]

I think my family is a little put off.  My mother saved a ton of stuff I had drawn and things like that and gave them to me.  I threw a lot of it away.  I think she was a little hurt because she had been holding on to it for so long, but it's not like SHE wanted it, you know?  But then I still have more.  Sigh.  I have so little, but still so much.

[accountclosed15]

Well I am disowned from my family, so it makes it easier. : )

[ziursrm]

The current issue is Christmas ornaments. Mom's tree has about a billion of them nearly all homemade over the past 40 years. Our tree has white lights for the second year in a row.  We might get ornaments some day if find gorgeous set that I can invision using for years. I have been trying to nicely convey that we like just the lights and don't need the kids to make a bunch of ornaments to get us started. 

[Paigekitten]

We just did white lights and popcorn and cranberry strings on the tree this year and I am taking the stocking and a couple ornaments back to my parents house for their decorating.

So as far as the paper stuff goes I am doing a MAJOR purge right now.  I had 8 scrapbooks and I'm paring down to just one.  It's so freeing.  I wonder why I kept so much of this stuff in the first place.  I am also scanning the stuff I'm keeping onto the computer and putting it on my blog.  Not very minimalist, I know, but I figure with two digital copies and a hard copy I won't lose them. It's kind of my security blanket, I still have to purge things in stages sometimes.

[mudhugger]

I love photos, and photo albums.  Growing up we would pull out my folks albums all the time and had so much fun going through them-- asking questions and getting great stories in return.  I pare down to the best photos, but that's definitely one area I don't minimize. 

I also love ornaments on the tree, but this year we made a bunch of origami cranes and stars out of those stupid Macy's fliers that won't stop coming to our house.  They looked really cool-- we had fun making them-- and they go in the woodstove at the end. 

I like to recycle ds's art.  Watercolors make great tags for food descriptions at potluck dinners for instance.  What will be interesting is as he grows up, how much he wants to save (his art and writings, etc)...Are any of you dealing with that?

[Paigekitten]

When my girls do a picture they really really like we tape it up on the inside of the kitchen cabinets, and so far we haven't filled that up yet.  Most of their art they like to burn in the woodstove.  I am planning to keep one binder for myself, and then one for each child, but so far I haven't saved much for them.

[elefante]

File cabinet drawer for each child.

Shadowboxes for objects [baby shoes, beach glass, etc.].

Photo albums on bookshelves for trip photos.

In the post-Christmas purge of 2011 [ie. Yesterday], not only did I clear out my little guy's NICU nametag, but also items like stuffed animals my mother had saved since I was a baby. Horrible person, I know. I really felt that it was a toy I wouldn't want my child to play with [unsafe], it didn't mean anything to me, and it would cause me more stress having it then it would if I just pitched it. I try to be quite mindful of what we take out of our home, and what I save for upcycling / future crafts, but sometimes I just need to allow myself to just throw some things away, for my own sake for my own mental health.

[SomethingAnonymous]

Originally Posted by ziursrm 

Do you find that other people (family for example) get offended by your minimalism with memorabilia? My mom gets pretty miffed that I don't keep every drawing or craft project that my kids come home with from her house. I'm glad she loves to spend the creative time with them but I prefer to put it on the fridge for a week and then rotate it out with the next batch. She still has my crafts from preschool, but I just don't want to do that.

If it was my mom, I'd say to her that if she wants them kept so badly, then she should store them :)

[MinneapolisMom]

Originally Posted by SomethingAnonymous 

If it was my mom, I'd say to her that if she wants them kept so badly, then she should store them :)

When my toddlers do paintings or drawings, we use them as gifts or stationary and mail them off to grandmas, aunts, cousins, etc. Each recipient gets an original artwork that they can decide to keep or toss. If the girls paint enough this year, I may save a file to use as our Christmas cards.

Most craft projects are either tossed or gifted as they come in the house. I take photos to commemorate and keep a few special things
 

[ziursrm]

Originally Posted by SomethingAnonymous 

If it was my mom, I'd say to her that if she wants them kept so badly, then she should store them :)

She is slowly learning to ask if I want this or that craft, rather than just sending it home. She just can't understand why I wouldn't want it all, but she is learning to respect it.

Originally Posted by MinneapolisMom 

When my toddlers do paintings or drawings, we use them as gifts or stationary and mail them off to grandmas, aunts, cousins, etc. Each recipient gets an original artwork that they can decide to keep or toss. If the girls paint enough this year, I may save a file to use as our Christmas cards.

Most craft projects are either tossed or gifted as they come in the house. I take photos to commemorate and keep a few special things
 

That's a good idea. We have family out of state that I think would enjoy some of the crafts along with the pictures we send periodically. My son just isn't all that crafty and I don't want to teach him to hold onto stuff that has no meaning to him (he only colors when all the other kids are and then ignores it unless we make it a big deal). My 2yo daughter on the other hand already loves to color and draw and I think as she gets older there will be more attachment for her to some of the projects. Then we might start collecting the special ones in a book or something. I just want them to learn to be discerning. Something I was never taught. I still remember how agonizing it was for me to throw away my college homework, papers, reports etc 5 years after I graduated. It was freeing once it was done, but I had been so attached to the nostalgia of flipping through them and remembering all the hard work put into it.

[Mommel]

I'm bad about keeping memorabilia too... I have a small file box with important papers and memorabilia. I have very few things that I haven't scanned into digital files. When Mr. Moo gets old enough to start drawing and crafting, I'm sure my mom will keep a lot of craft stuff of his. Hopefully she knows by now that I won't want it in my house, but I still anticipate issues with it, as we have already encountered issues with gifting over the holidays...

I told her I didn't want any stuff from her, so instead she bought me all kinds of junk food that I definitely didn't want or need. I'm BFing and extremely cautious about what I eat. Ugh.  She's trying to understand, but some people will just never get the concept. On the other hand, my sister gave us a membership gift certificate for the local zoo, that I can wait to redeem for up to a year, so this summer when he is moving around more and ready to enjoy it, I will redeem it and have it for a year. What a great gift for a minimalist!!

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by mudhugger 

I also love ornaments on the tree, but this year we made a bunch of origami cranes and stars out of those stupid Macy's fliers that won't stop coming to our house.  They looked really cool-- we had fun making them-- and they go in the woodstove at the end. 

I like to recycle ds's art.  Watercolors make great tags for food descriptions at potluck dinners for instance.  What will be interesting is as he grows up, how much he wants to save (his art and writings, etc)...Are any of you dealing with that?

I looooove these ideas!! I am totally going to put these on my "cool ideas" list!