What Do You Do With Sentimental Inherited Items?
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Are you struggling to decide what to do with a deceased loved ones’ sentimental inherited items? At least once a year I try to go through everything I have in storage and give the spaces a deep clean. Are you like me and find things you forgot you had? Sometimes you may find sentimental things that you haven’t been able to part with, but have no use for in your current life. It may be especially hard to part with things that belonged to a loved one who has passed.
Or are you in a position where you have to go through a loved ones’ possessions and decide what to do with them? The following tips may help.
Give yourself some grace...
Go easy on yourself and don’t expect this to be easy or quick. When my mother passed I had to hurry and get her apartment cleaned out. Boxes of her papers and things filled my dining room for six months.
Give yourself time...
You may need some time to process your grief before getting rid of a loved ones’ belongings. This is true especially if they have passed recently. Unfortunately there may be time constraints if you need to empty an apartment or get a house cleaned out quick for sale.
Plan for storage if necessary...
If you don’t have the time you need to sort through everything plan for temporary storage. Ideally, you might have some space in your own home or can afford off-site storage. I use some old Rubbermaid bins that I got years ago to store pictures, frames and other little items. They have held up well and are still in great shape.
Know what your goals are for keeping or letting go of any sentimental items...
Are there family heirlooms that you or someone else in the family want to keep? Maybe you are the family historian and want to keep a legacy for future generations. Perhaps you just want something to help you remember them by, not that you would ever forget. If there are some valuable items, you may want to sell them. I inherited an antique corner whatnot and a cedar lined chest from my grandmother and have always found a place for them in my homes over the years. Someday I hope to pass them down to my children or grandchildren.
Sort into categories...
It may be easiest to start with large items like furniture, because they will take up the most space. You may be able to find room in your own home for one or two pieces that you want to keep . The rest will have to go – either to another family member, be stored, donated, sold, or trashed if not in good condition. I was able to part with a lot of my mother’s furniture fairly quickly in a yard sale with the main goals to free up space and make enough money to take the family out for dinner. I was able to reuse some of my favourite things or put them in storage.
Next, go through clothing or smaller household accessories with the same intentions. Then go through papers and finally photographs. You can read my post Printed Photos – Organizing Memories here.
Have a plan for the sentimental inherited items you want to keep...
Will you display them in a shadow box or in pride-of-place in your home? You might put a vase or nic nac on your bookshelves or fireplace mantle. Will you make a scrapbook with all their ticket stubs, certificates and photographs? Some things may not be practical for you to keep but would be nice for a museum or other archive foundation to have and share with others. My cousin has our great grandmother’s wedding dress which I suggested might be donated to a museum.
There may be some items you want to save for other family members. But if that is the case, make sure they actually want them. Give them a time deadline to take the items or let them know you will be letting them go. I kept a box of little items of my mother’s for my kids, nieces and nephew to pick through for a few years, but finally had to let them go.
How will you honor your sentimental inherited items?
You can watch the video below...
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