Mother’s day is right around the corner and one universal struggle we all have as moms is what to do with all the sentimental items that we collect over the years.

Sentimental items can be anything from photographs to baby blankets, framed artwork, jewelry, or gifts we receive from our loved ones.

Organizing sentimental items is not an easy thing to do. It’s the last category on the Marie Kondo tidying by category process because we need to build the decluttering and organizing muscle before we tackle it.

While this activity can be quite emotionally charged, going through it you’ll find a deeper appreciation for the items that you do keep, and you’ll be at peace with the items you’ve let go of.

The good thing is there are a variety of ways to store sentimental items and I am going to share some of my favorites below.

How to Organize Pictures:

1. Take out all your pictures and trust your heart to guide you as you go through them.
2. When you come across similar photos, keep the one that sparks the most joy.
3. Organize miscellaneous photos and categorize them by year, events, or both.
4. Get some photo boxes or albums (I like Print File’s durable boxes).
5. Buy or make index cards.
6. Arrange your photos in order of date or special event.
7. Use your index cards as date dividers so that your photos are easy to find.
8. If using photo albums, use each album to represent a year or occasion.
9. Label your photo boxes/albums and place them neatly away.

Pro Tip: the process described above can easily be applied to organizing greeting cards and letters you want to keep.

How to Organize Kids’ Artwork:

Save that cute mother’s day artwork you’re sure to receive, so you can enjoy it later.

I like to create artbooks of my son’s creations and even framed pieces we can use as decor. This way everything is kept neat, organized, and safe from wear and tear caused by the passage of time.

Here’s My Process:

1. Setting the artwork on a flat surface, I take a good picture framing the art in the shot.

2. I create an art book using Canva by importing all the pictures I took in step 1.

3. Finally, I print out the artbook and use it as a coffee table book.

4. If you’d rather make a framed collage of the artwork, the same process applies. Instead of creating the book yourself, you can send your pictures to your local print shop.

I dedicated an entire blog post to the topic of organizing kids’ artwork, with many unique ideas – give it a read here.

How to Organize Meaningful Gifts and Other Items:

Sometimes we want to keep gifts out of love and respect for the gifter but don’t necessarily have a use for them.

In these situations, I tell my clients to keep one item that represents a collection of items or one that’s representative of the connection they have with the loved one.

1. Identify your most meaningful keepsakes
2. Ask yourself why you want to keep it and if there is a way you can put it to use.
3. For items that have no meaning, pass them on to someone that can enjoy it.
4. For the keepsakes with no home, create a memory box or bin to store them safely.
5. Finally, don’t forget to label your boxes!

On a final note, allow yourself to be vulnerable as you go through this process, mama. We’re all going to have a different comfort level when it comes to the number of items we want to keep – and that’s okay.

If you’re looking for ways to organize your jewelry, I wrote in detail about it here.

Tune in to my ongoing 14 Day Get Organized challenge I’ll be sharing lots of fun tips on how to store your favorite treasures.

Happy Organizing and Happy Mother’s day!

And don’t forget that sometimes, your phone needs decluttering too.

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You can also contact me or subscribe to my newsletter here.

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