As our children grow and move on to new stages of life, it’s natural for us to want to hold on to the items that remind us of their childhood. However, these sentimental items can quickly pile up, causing clutter and making it difficult to find the things we really want to keep. In this blog post, we’ll provide tips for decluttering children’s sentimental items, so you can preserve the memories without sacrificing organization and space.

Welcome to the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series! We will be starting decluttering specific tasks. Each day is dedicated to spending only 30 minutes decluttering your specific daily task. We will be working 5 days a week, so you can take 2 days to enjoy time with your loved ones.

If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.

Decluttering Children’s Sentimental Items: Tips for Organizing and Preserving Memories

1. Start with a plan. Before you start decluttering, it’s important to have a plan in place. This might involve setting aside a certain amount of time, making a list of items to sort through, or even getting your children involved in the process. Having a plan will make the task less daunting and more manageable.
2. Sort items into categories. One of the best ways to declutter sentimental items is to sort them into categories. For example, you could create piles for toys, artwork, clothing, and other items. This makes it easier to see what you have and to decide what to keep, sell, donate, or throw away.
3. Consider each item’s sentimental value. When you’re sorting through items, it’s important to consider each item’s sentimental value. Ask yourself: Does this item hold a special memory or sentimental value for you or your child? If the answer is yes, then it’s worth keeping. If not, then it may be time to let it go.
4. Create a memory box. One great way to preserve sentimental items is by creating a memory box. A memory box is a container where you can store items that hold special memories, such as photos, artwork, or even a favorite toy. Having a designated place for sentimental items makes it easier to keep them organized and to find them when you want to revisit the memories.
5. Digitalize sentimental items. Another great way to preserve sentimental items is by digitizing them. This can involve taking photos of artwork or special toys, or even scanning old photos and documents. By digitizing items, you can free up physical space while still being able to access the memories whenever you want.
6. Teach your children to declutter. Finally, it’s important to teach your children the value of decluttering and organizing. By involving them in the process and showing them how to make decisions about what to keep and what to let go, you can help them develop good habits that will serve them well in the future.

In conclusion, decluttering children’s sentimental items can be a challenge, but with the right approach and tools, it can also be a rewarding experience. By preserving the memories that matter, you can create a more organized and peaceful living space for you and your family.

5 IMPORTANT guidelines to keep you on task when Decluttering Children’s Sentimental Items 

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task. 

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted. 

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. 

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. Recruit help if you are stuck in the decision process. 

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later.

We are working in the Kid’s Room or Guest bedroom this week. Your task today for today, April 17th, is to: Declutter any sentimental items.

Steps for Decluttering Children’s Sentimental Items

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.

Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.

I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.

Tips for Decluttering Children’s Sentimental Items

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again.

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you make a Housekeeping Schedule for Your Home.

Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.

Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item.

How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.

Happy Decluttering!

To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3:   How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered. 

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.

Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com: 

14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered

How to Do A 1 Day Declutter

How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule

How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter

What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?

Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.

For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.

I hope you have benefitted from my tips on Decluttering Children’s Sentimental Items. Leave a comment below to subscribe to my daily declutter task email series.