How do I get rid of items that are sentimental to me?

Question

I have such a hard time getting rid of things that people have given to me. If feel like if they find out it will hurt them. However, I NEED TO GET RID OF STUFF BEFORE IT RUNS MY HOUSE OVER!!. Any ideas on how I can do this?? Thank you to everyone!!

Answer 1

Oh I hate that.   I go thru my kids toys and know exactly who got them what and when.  I finally started saying to myself we don't need it or use it so why keep it.   I can give it to someone else who can really use it.  Or sell it but then I feel bad because I didn't buy it to begin with.

Then also I think about the person who gave it to me.   Do they really keep everything I give them?   Probably not so why should I turn into a pack rat?

Good luck

Answer 2

Honestly, out of site out of mind works.  Just do the 3-sec rule on anything in your bedroom closet (start there) and if you can't say "I love it/have to keep it" by the end of 3 sec's then the item goes into one of three bins:  Ebay/Craig's List/Yard Sale Bin, Garbage Bin, or charity bin.  

I do this every Jan for every closet in my house (including my food closets aka pantry), and I have to make my husband do it, but it gets rid of the junk.  Yes, sometimes, I will admit I do get rid of things that I later regret, but I'm telling you that happens very little.  Typically, I don't even remember half the stuff I gave away.  And eveyrone always is blown away when they seem my bedroom closets (and I mean every closet).  I jst don't keep stuff.  I call it clutter.  

People have asked me to hlep them before clear out their stuff, and I tell them that I will ONLY do it if they follow "my" rule, and most can't do it (ha-ha).  Seriously, the can't.  But my one friend did indeed let me help her two January's ago, and we spent two Saturday's at the end of Jan and beginning of Feb going through her bedroom closets, and then seh sold the stuff on Cragi's list and made almost $400 (she sould have given it to me to be honest with you, but that thought never crossed her mind - lol).  Anway, the point is this... 90% OF THE STUFF IN OUR CLOSETS/DRAWERS ARE THINGS WE DO NOT NEED.  We are creatures of "stuff".  

Good luck

Answer 3

It will be the hardest thing to part with things that mean so much. but you could give some to women's shelter, that is what we do in our family, but i must say we have held on to may family things, that we want to pass on to our family , hope this helps a bit

Answer 4

Good question. I am a bit of a saver myself but I have a fairly inflexible rule- if I don't use it,view it ,within 2 to 4 years and it takes up a lot of space or collects dust and is difficult to move, I get rid of it. This goes for everything,whether it matters to my nostalgia or not.

The only alternative is to create more storage space, which may not be a bad idea. If you are saving it for your future generation,forget it,they will regard it with far less value than you can ever assume. I have seen descendants filling debris boxes,the kind that huge trucks have trouble lifting if they are too full, days after the will has been verified. Unfortunately much of what we value cannot fully be appreciated until many generations after we are gone. Select and store according to your values-never assume that succeeding generations will have your judgment,beyond that,its' pretty much all junk worthy of a garage sale at best.-----keep in mind that anything of rarity, historical items,etc. should be marked and packed with the respect that they are due-any plastic c**p produced in the latter half of the 20th century,regardless of their assumed value on Ebay are of little if any value and should be regarded as an heirloom pariah of the worst sort.

Answer 5

Donate to Goodwill...

Answer 6

Take a picture of them and store them under a "Memorabilia" directory on your computer and/or upload them to Flickr or some other online storage site for backup purposes.

Answer 7

Give them to someone who needs them more. There have been a recent string of disasters all over the US and those people need stuff, photo albums, CD's, clothing and so much more. Contact you local Red Cross or United way and see if they can help you donate the items. If they are more Nick Nack type things then have a yard sale and donate the money for a good cause. Then when someone asks you can say that although you loved it you felt compelled to help out after all the losses people have suffered. Good Luck!