Organize + Energize: Organizing Your Memorabilia

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

It’s found all over your home. It’s on top of the dining room table, in drawers in every room, scattered in your kid’s rooms and throughout your bedroom. It’s memorabilia! There isn’t an organizing session that goes by where I don’t find memorabilia.

If you have paper piles in your home, I can guarantee there is memorabilia in there. If you have piles that turn into clutter, the important memorabilia gets stuck in with the items that really don’t mean that much. You’ll want to cherish your memorabilia. If it’s getting stuck with items you don’t care about, how much does it really mean to you?

When most people are decluttering and find memorabilia, they get stuck. You begin to reminisce and then 2 hours have gone by and you aren’t even close to finishing your organizing project.

When decluttering, you have to disconnect. If you are organizing a space and you find memorabilia, put it in a box and continue decluttering. There will be time later to reminisce. Continue on with the rest of your organizing projects in the house and keep adding to this box. If you are working through family memorabilia, create a box for each family member. Once your entire home is organized, then you can grab your box and focus just on memorabilia.

Here are 4 tips to organizing your memorabilia:

Categorize. This is optional, but you can categorize your memorabilia. You may have certain categories of memorabilia that you’ll maybe want to refer to at a later time. It will be easy to find if you have categories. Later in life, you may find that certain categories no longer have the meaning they once held and it will be easy to just get rid of that category.

To toss or keep. That is the biggest question. So many people get stuck here and never finish because they can’t make up their mind. Make the decision whether you want to keep it or not. What meaning does it hold for you? What meaning will it hold years from now? Will your kids want it when they’re older? Will you want it when you’re older?

Contain. Whether you put items in decorative boxes or bins, it’s your choice, but you must contain memorabilia. Designate a container for each family member. Every child should have one, regardless of what age they are. You are never too young or too old to have one. This will save you the headache years from now when you’re going through piles of it and have no idea who it belongs to. It will also be easy for kids to look at as they get older because they have their own bins and can make their own decisions of what to keep or toss.

Maintain. Memorabilia will arrive in the home and it will get placed in the memorabilia bin. If you want to enjoy it for a while and keep it displayed, that’s ok! When you are tired of looking at it and want to replace it with new memorabilia, be sure to place it in the designated bin.

Once your memorabilia is contained and you have a system to process it, you will never have to deal with the stress of finding it in random places in your home.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert and owner of Organizing in RI. Kristin teaches her clients that living an organized lifestyle will save them time and money, decrease their stress levels and help them become more efficient and productive. Her articles have been published in local and national magazines. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to begin. She is also available for organizing workshops.

Related Slideshow: 10 Minute Organizing Projects

Declutter and Organize

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