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Home ยป Blog ยป Sorting, Saving and Storing Children’s Keepsakes-A Quick and Easy Guide for Busy Moms

Sorting, Saving and Storing Children’s Keepsakes-A Quick and Easy Guide for Busy Moms

by Sarah Turner Clover Lane

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Here is a simple guide to how I’ve been sorting, saving, and storing my children’s keepsakes and mementos for twenty seven years.

What to keep and what not to keep? Every mom is going to have her preference but here is how I decide. With six children I would be buried in papers, artwork, trophies and special items if I did not have some sort of discretion.

The most important question is-Will they and their significant other, or children, think this was worth looking at? I can tell you that no adult child wants to haul huge storage containers of their childhood mementos place to place, or sit for days and go through each item. With that thought in mind I save-

-A few or more sweet outfits from baby and toddlerhood, and a few pairs of little shoes, anything monogrammed and items from baptisms. A first haircut, a favorite blankie or stuffed animal and a few hospital things. Little mementos that trigger strong memories. (This is very difficult but gets easier as time goes on to weed out what is memorable or not-I saved so many clothes and then would revisit those boxes years later and choose less and less to keep.)

-School aged-artwork and papers that are significant-they have a handprint or drawing of themselves, something “about me”, a sweet story or note, or artwork they’ve worked very hard on. Not workbook pages, or a generic project. Something one day that they can look at and know something about themselves at that age. (These things greatly decrease while in high school.)

-Awards for something significant-Hardest Worker, etc. Not participation ribbons or trophies (only because my kids are very active in sports-if they had worked hard to accomplish one season only I would probably save that.)

-Letters written to my children from me, (I keep the ones written to me in my own scrapbook box, see below), their dad, their sibling, or grandparents, etc. Not generic birthday cards.

-Small mementos of little stuffed animals and toys that they adored. As we clean out rooms and purge I often ask “Do you want to save this?” If yes, it goes up in the scrapbook box OR they keep it in a special little box that stays in their rooms.

How do I organize and store children’s keepsakes?

I have always had a box or boxes in a closet or on a shelf (which can be labeled by child, or can be sorted through if just one box) where I can easily place these things until they go up to large plastic lidded storage bins in the attic which happens about once a year during my 40 Bags in 40 Days declutter method.

Here’s a visual look at the process:

This simple container (a cuter bin here) sits at the top of a kid’s closet, and I place things in here all year that I or they want to keep for their scrapbook boxes. Examples are an autographed t-shirt, a trophy (that they are finished displaying), a favorite little stuffed animal or blankie they’ve outgrown, or special notes.
I also have two drawers in my desk area in the basement that I put my youngest grade school children’s papers from school that I want to keep. It is close to the kitchen where the kids come in and where I go through their school things. The key is both of these places -closet and desk drawer -(which could easily be combined into one) are easily accessible. Things can be placed in either immediately. I will gather the papers for the year into a large rubber band, bind or folder and place them in the bin in the attic.
At the beginning of the school year, or when I do my annual spring clean, I place them in strong lidded storage bins like these that are stored in the attic. My older boys have around two, Abbey has about five (she is extremely sentimental), and the youngest two have one that isn’t full right now.
Each child has had, or does have, a little scrapbook box of their own. It looks something like this above…
…or this. I can’t find the personalized ones anymore, so I bought a vintage clean traincase for the younger two-these are easy to find on Etsy or estate sales. This storage case and this one would also work. I wanted a roomy one with lots of space, and a latch.
Here’s the example of a what’s inside-lots of those little things-souvenirs, a special coin, baseball cards. I can tell you my adult children love these boxes and these remain in the younger children’s rooms since they add to them and like to look through them.
This year I sorted out the bin in the closet by child and took these things up to the attic to their boxes. (I have my own storage bin also from my own childhood.)
These are my easily accessible scrapbook boxes in my closet (these are pretty ones)-the pretty inexpensive floral ones. These contain notes, cards and letters, or any other little mementos I want to keep.
I also have scrapbooks for my children and yes they have massively trickled down with each child as I’ve lost my momentum. I love these, they are beautiful and took a lot of time, but I also want to say this-it’s okay to just have a bin of things to give your children to sort through themselves. This was a hobby of mine for awhile and served its purpose.
Since I’m of age to also have printed photos, I keep our family’s photos in matching photo albums. It was a HUGE project to get this finished and one I did years ago. (You can read about it here.) I haven’t printed photos in about five years, and feel no guilt about it. There are so many easier newer options, like making a family yearbook each year, or one day putting them all those photos on a hard drive and handing them out to each child to do what they’d like with them. All photo options are time consuming, but if I had any advice, it would be to come up with what you DO have time for, or the inclination for, and keep focused on that. (My friend Andrea Decker, always sensible, frugal and thoughtful has an excellent process.)

I hope this post on sorting, saving and storing children’s keepsakes has helped you-let me know if you have any questions-I always check back to answer them.

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March 25, 2021 ยท 2 Comments

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  1. Ashley Urke | Domestic Fashionista says

    March 25, 2021 at 5:47 pm

    This is so helpful Sarah! My children are 4 and 2 and their small box is already exploding with things I wanted to save. You offer some great tips and suggestions. As soon as they wake up from their nap I am going to take the boxes out of their room and put in an easier to access place so I can sort through and pare down quite a bit. I also loved how you mentioned different kids have different storage bins based off of how sentimental they are. Such a good reminder that as time passes, to let my children dictate how much they want to keep as well (as I also tend to be a bit more sentimental). Anyways, loved this post! And your new site looks lovely!

    Reply
    • Sarah Turner says

      March 25, 2021 at 6:55 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply

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Sarah Turner

When our first baby was placed in my arms I knew there was no place I wanted to be other than home with him every day. Twenty five years, and five more babies later, (six children, now ages 26-8), I still feel the same. I blog here about motherhood, how to make a house a home, easy recipes, and simple living. You can read more about me here.

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Nothing pretty, flashy, or spectacular. Just an o Nothing pretty, flashy, or spectacular.  Just an ordinary Monday morning breakfast counter after the kids leave for school.  Because ordinary gets the short hand in our culture but really it's extra special. 
It's a symbol of unselfishness, contentment, prudence and gratitude.  There is a certain peace about the ordinary.  It's the opposite of temporary-it holds the joy of contentment and gratitude and prudence all in one hand.  It's lends itself toward peace, and a settling in, not a constant search for more or less or anything.  Ordinary is authentic and good enough- in short it's a gem in disguise. ๐Ÿƒ
I love my home and I hope you do also. With all t I love my home and I hope you do also.  With all the imperfections and maintenance it requires, when I pull up and walk in I want to stay, to relax, to feel safe, for daily life to be easy, and to care for "home". I want simplicity, ease, convenience.  To me when my home is simple, without being filled to the brim of things that just take up space I love it best.  I hope if you've participated fully or even partially as time allowed in 40 Bags in 40 Days you've found that joy and pride in your home.  I plan to share more little challenges and tips as the year proceeds to trouble shoot areas and keep maintenance effortless and the house love flowing.  Daily life in our homes should bring us joy and ease while we care for our families, we should be thoughtful stewards of our money and of our time and simple living is the answer to that. 
Thank you for participating! ๐Ÿก
I think this is one of the best things about the 4 I think this is one of the best things about the 40 Bag decluttering process.  When I know what I have and have removed all that I don't, it cultivates more discretion and caution about what I bring back in.  I think there is also some realization of how much money is wasted on fads, or thoughtless purchases.  It's quite eye-opening.  I've become so much more careful, and find we all take better care of things, as do my children.
The final week of 40 Bags in 40 Days! I've tackle The final week of 40 Bags in 40 Days!  I've tackled all the areas of my home with exception of my oldest daughter's room (not the photo)- which she is excited to work on this week.
The simpler the room, the easier it is to clean an The simpler the room, the easier it is to clean and straighten up.  And then the more enjoyable it is to actually sit in that room.  It's not a hard equation, all it takes is ruthless purging-and not just little things but larger items also.  Functional furniture is the key and very few decorative pieces especially when children are in the home, makes life so much easier. 
๐Ÿƒ
As we head into the last week of the 40 Bags in 40 As we head into the last week of the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge I'm hearing from so many of you what a difference it has made in your appreciation of your homes, a certain contentment, and at the same time a thrill of looking in on the organized kitchen, closet and living space.  I agree!  I love purging, cleaning and organizing a space and then going back later that day just to get that wonderful sense of accomplishment.  It makes such a difference! 
๐Ÿƒ
A lighter, fresher, calmer home is the result of de-cluttering.  I even had a participant who had been planning on listing her home, start 40 Days just to get her house ready to sell, and then was so ruthless in the process and also thrilled by the results that they decided to stay put in what seemed like a new home to them.  What a savings of time, money and energy. 
๐Ÿƒ
Next week I will be talking maintenance and answer all questions! โ˜€๏ธ
Tips For Shared Kids Rooms- This bedroom has seen Tips For Shared Kids Rooms-
This bedroom has seen every configuration possible.  With kids spread out 18 years apart, I've had to be creative over the years-which I think is the key to sharing rooms.  It is all possible-I consider it a rare luxury and privilege to not have to share a room although I know that is not the norm today. 
๐Ÿƒ
I like to create a simple look with white furniture (this ends up making room transitions easier also when moving someone out and someone else in.) I also like to match bedspreads for a cohesive look. 
๐Ÿƒ
Clip on bed lights save space. 
๐Ÿƒ
A simple shared book shelf can hold a child's special books and knick knacks and if necessary can be assigned per shelf.
๐Ÿƒ
When my kids were younger I had my dad build me a large wooden roll out box for under each bed.  This held each child's toys. 
๐Ÿƒ
All clothes are kept in a closet instead of dressers to save space.
I feel like I bailed on everyone following 40 Bags I feel like I bailed on everyone following 40 Bags progress and tips.  My excuse is the stomach flu ravaging us all here in the last week with me being the last to fall and the slowest to recover.  On top of that the weekend before I tried to roller blade (don't even ask how many steps I made it) and majorly bit it.  Thankfully I think I just sprained my arm. So I've been using one arm for nursing sick children back to health, and doing whatever cleaning and cooking and straightening I can do.  Alas, last week was a wash.  We have two weeks to go.  I'd like to continue and end on a high note.  How about you?  Even a little de-cluttering counts! Spring is in the air and I can't wait to throw open my windows and let fresh clean air circulate through my fresh clean orderly home. โ˜€๏ธ๐ŸŒท๐ŸŒฑ
Especially where kids are concerned- we tend to th Especially where kids are concerned- we tend to think that the more things they have the happier and more occupied and loved they will feel.  Nothing can replace human interaction and I've found that too many toys has the reverse affect.  They cause overwhelm-just like us - we'd rather sit in an orderly space than one filled with too many things to do and too much stuff.
โ˜€๏ธ
When it comes to kids closets here are some tips-
1. Hand me downs don't all have to be received.  Or received at all.  Be choosy and keep just what they will use and need.
2. When children are presented with too many choices, tension and acrimony can exist.  Being able to open a closet with a reasonable amount of outfits can create more peace.
3. Cultivating independence in care of clothes is easier when there is less and the space is simplified and organized. 
โ˜€๏ธ
More tips coming on the blog this week.  I am moving my blog platform so I can't make any promises - it's under construction and that's exciting!
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