How Do I Get Rid of Sentimental Clutter?

Feeling sentimental about objects is real. There are many emotions surrounding them because they often hold personal memories and meaningful connections to people, places and events. When you try to let go of these items, you may feel an intense sense of loss, guilt or even grief—you are essentially releasing a part of your history. Unfortunately, without being able to cull items from your home, they can accumulate and create a cluttered situation. But with so much involved, how do you get rid of this sentimental clutter?

What is Sentimental Clutter?

Sentimental clutter refers to items that hold a special meaning or emotional connection. An item becomes sentimental when related to personal memories, experiences or significant events in your life. They bring back positive memories that makes them difficult to part with, even if they no longer serve a practical purpose in your life.

Over time, the accumulation of sentimental clutter can lead to disorganized and overwhelming living areas, making it difficult to find storage for them or navigate around them, and taking up valuable space. Your environment is no longer relaxing.

Some examples can include:

• Childhood toys or games
• Family heirlooms
• Pictures and photo albums
• Letters, cards and notes from loved ones
• Mementos from travel and vacations
• Arts and crafts made by children
• Wedding and engagement rings
• Clothing and accessories from special events
• Awards and certificates

What Should I Keep?

The decision on what to keep depends on your personal preferences and the item’s emotional significance. Here are some guidelines on what to keep:

• Items that bring you joy and have a strong emotional connection
• Items with practical value like jewelry you wear regularly
• Items with sentimental value to others such a gift from a loved one
• Items with historical significance like old family photographs or letters that may be of interest to future generations

How to Remember Sentimental Items

It’s not necessarily the item itself, but the memories you want to preserve. To remember sentimental items you don’t want to keep, and hold on to them in different ways, try these ideas:

• Take photographs before disposing of the items
• Write a journal entry of your memories and associated thoughts, and make the journal the keepsake
• Create a memory box for small items
• Keep a digital record with scans or important documents or digital photographs
• Share you stories with loved ones to keep the legacy alive
• Repurpose items by turning them into something new, like making a quilt from old clothes or a piece of jewelry from broken pieces.

How Do I Get Rid of Sentimental Clutter?

What’s important is to evaluate the sentimental value of each item, and only keep those that hold real significance and bring joy. To help eliminate items, try these steps:

• Separate items into categories such as sentimental value, practical value and emotional value.
• Ask yourself if the item still holds sentimental value and brings joy to your life. If not, let it go.
• Choose a course of action. Decide what you will do with each item: keep it, donate it, or toss it. Create bins for each category and place each item in its appropriate bin.
• Store or display. For items you decide to keep, create dedicated storage or display areas to preserve them property and protect them from damage
• Let go. Once you’ve made your decision to donate or toss, take action to let them go.

Related: 13 Tips on How to Get Rid of Sentimental Clutter Without Feeling Guilty

A Junk Removal Company like 123JUNK Can Help You Release Sentimental Clutter

A junk removal company like 123JUNK provides a convenient and efficient solution for disposing of items you no longer need or want. Their services include:

• Pick up/removal. Your junk removal company will come to your home and remove the items, saving you the time and energy of having to dispose of them yourself.
• Respectful handling. At 123JUNK, we train our team members on courtesy and respect. They understand that getting rid of sentimental clutter is stressful, and that there are a lot of emotions involved. They know how to handle your objects carefully and respectfully to reduce the stress and emotional burden of letting them go.
• Junk removal companies like 123JUNK also have a donation component, where perfectly-good items are delivered to local charity partners to be repurposed back into the community, or used to raise funds for charitable causes.
• Based on an items suitability and usability, some items may be better off being recycled than donated or taken to the local landfill.
• Peace of mind. Your junk removal service takes care of the entire process to ensure that your sentimental clutter is disposed of properly and ethically.

What’s most important is to be kind to yourself. Understand that handling sentimental items is emotional, but not disabling. Give yourself permission to let go of items that no longer serve a purpose in your life, and don’t feel guilty.

123JUNK: The First Choice for Junk Removal in NoVa, MD and DC

If your home is located in Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington DC, contact 123JUNK. You’ll love the fact that you talk with a live person when you call, and that all our team members are trained to be courteous and respectful. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

When you call, learn about our 1-2-3 process of Donate-Recycle-Dispose, and our flat fee, all-inclusive pricing. Call us today at 1-800-364-5778 to schedule your junk removal pickup.