Friday 5 February 2010

Keepsakes: What to Keep

There are lots of little things associated with our children that we want to hold onto....a first babygrow, some toys, examples of their artwork. Even when they are quite little you find yourself wanting to keep things of theirs that you think they'll appreciate seeing when they are grown adults and when they have children of their own. This can involve storing items for quite a period of time so it's important to consider what's really worth saving.

Over at the Small Notebook blog, mother of two, Rachel, offers some good advice on the topic of keepsakes. Rachel suggests we ask ourselves three simple questions:


  • How much was it loved?

  • How big is it?

  • How well will it keep?



It's easy to form sentimental attachment to things which are not practical to keep long-term. By asking yourself these three questions you eliminate holding onto items that can become tiresome to keep because they take up a lot of space or are prone to damage.

We have all probably been asked by our parents what they should do with boxes of our own childhood keepsakes. We might not want them at the time they ask us, we might not have the storage space to take them off their hands but Rachel rightly advises tackling the boxes together to sort through and decide what you really want to keep. For those of us living far away from our parents, Rachel suggests the process can be done via email, with pictures sent and the simple question, 'Do you want this?'. I haven't done this yet with my parents but I can immediately think of things they have stored away that could be cleared out.

I think keepsakes are an important part of treasuring childhood memories for both parent and child. They are a touching reminder of the past and of joyful moments. They can also serve as a kind of fun historical insight for grandchildren or great-grandchildren, if a toy or object no longer exists. The key is in striking a balance between keeping a few things of significance and not letting our sentimental side get the better of us.

How do you decide what keepsakes of your children to hold onto? Are you very sentimental or quite ruthless when it comes to keeping stuff?

---

Photo credit

---

1 comment:

  1. Good topic! I have a whole protion of the attic filled with high chair, toys, and books. If you have extra space, I think it's neat to keep the favorite toys (Barbie castle, Playmobil and Legos here). I hope that one day my grandchildren will play with them. I loved finding all games and toys at my parents' place when we had to empty it. I'm definitely sentimental. If it touches my heart with fond memories, it's a keeper.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading. I'd love to have your comments and thoughts!