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I am such a sentimental person that I hate to even throw away the gift tags from Christmas presents I’ve received. My husband is the complete opposite and has been known to finish reading a card as he drops it into the trash can.
Most of you probably live somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, so here’s a simple way I’ve found to organize my sentimental items!
Sentimental items could be things like:
- birthday and anniversary cards
- mementos from trips and events
- artwork, school projects and papers from your children
While I love the idea of creating binders for different categories and preserving cards in page protectors, I know I won’t maintain a system like that. Here’s what I’ve done – I purchased several decorative boxes from Dollar General (all under $8!) to store all my items. I love that they can double as decor and don’t have to be hidden away like an ugly plastic bin.
Here are the different categories of my keepsakes:
- childhood mementos: cards, notes and various papers that I’ve hung on to all these years
- cards from friends, blog readers and blogging buddies
- cards and gift tags (yep) from my family
- cards, notes and mementos from Paul
I’d like to say that I immediately put items in their proper boxes, but the truth is that I keep a little stack on a shelf in my home office. Every so often I sort the stack and put them away.
Even with a large stack, it only takes a few minutes. I used my handy label maker to label the back of the boxes for easy reference!
You can find these boxes at stores like Home Goods or TJ Maxx, but I love the price and the selection at Dollar General. I’ve also used a box like this to contain a care package-type gift, and it was a really nice alternative to a gift basket!
You Might Also Enjoy:
- How To Organize Warranties, Manuals and Household Documents
- My Recipe Organization Binder
- The Secret to an Organized Life
- Why I Am Not A Minimalist
If you want even more organization inspiration, click the Organization tab at the top of my site for a complete index of all the organizing projects on the blog!
I lean more towards Paul. I save kid art with hand or foot prints on it and really unique or special pieces. Everything else goes after being enjoyed for a bit. I will also save sweet handwritten things. I’ve got a bin full of handwritten cards or letters from friends and family. I just spotted it today in our storage room and was reminded that I needed to clean it out/organize it again. I like your system and need to work on a better filing system for each of my kids.
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You’re smart – with 5 people in your house, you can’t afford to hang on to everything or you’d be buried in papers! 🙂
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You just gave me a great idea of what to do with my decorative boxes. Thanks!
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Yay! You’re welcome!
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Great idea! I love that the boxes are cute, so you don’t have to worry about finding a spot in closet to store them!
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Exactly. They even look pretty when they’re stacked on a bookshelf!
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I love this idea, and I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who has saved gift tags! 🙂
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Ha! No, you are not. 🙂 Welcome to the club! 🙂
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I have done the exact same thing! (Except I haven’t labeled mine, but I need to!)
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Great minds think alike! 🙂
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I currently use ugly manilla envelopes to store my favorite sentimental cards… I totally need to look into these instead! So much cuter!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
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The envelopes probably take up less space to store, but these boxes are so pretty that it doesn’t matter! 🙂
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