Maybe it’s because I’m moving. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. (I mean, seriously, I’m turning 23 in a few weeks!) Or maybe it’s just because I’ve been spending so much time in my bedroom here at home… but…
I’m feeling super sentimental.
I’ve expressed my fears of turning into a hoarder… but this is my solution for keeping memories without going overboard.
(Confession: I also have more memories stored in various places around my room and closet, but this truly is the bulk of it.)
Storage boxes galore!!! I don’t think there are many rules about storing memories. I don’t like to organize it by date or type. It’s much more interesting to go through at random! I only dig into these boxes every couple of years, so it’s really fun to get to different kinds of memories arbitrarily.
The NUMBER ONE (and frankly only “rule”) thing to keep in mind is that you’re not necessarily organizing memories. You’re containing memories.
These three boxes store all sorts of random memories.
As I go through the boxes, I’m always trying to remember why I keep some things and throw others away. There’s seemingly no rhyme or reason as to what I keep and that’s the great thing about it 🙂 While I personally would love to post every weird item I’ve saved, but I have a feeling y’all would not find it as interesting as I do!
A few newspaper clippings and my “Carly for Treasurer” pins from fourth grade!
Little toys… like a yarn doll, Amelia sign language cards, paper dolls, Bazooka comics…
I threw away ALL of my binders and folders (from elementary, middle, and high school) at the beginning of summer. I did keep my favorite school projects though. I also kept finding bits and pieces of projects in the box. (For example, I found one red headed child from my Cheaper by the Dozen book report!)
More school stuff. Like my embarrassing Math League packets and my favorite Rick’s Café performances.
The randomness of the items just cracks me up. I really couldn’t be nerdier…. Captain of the Safety Patrols… glitter bow tie from a chorus performance… my little baby eyeglasses… movie tickets… my first jury duty summons… more school projects…
Finding the perfect box to contain the memories is the only step you might have to accomplish.
Target, Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond, and The Container Store are great places to start searching for storage solutions.
Love these boxes from Target! They’d look beautiful on a shelf in a closet (and they come in various sizes). No one would know that your crazy memories are stored inside!
These little boxes are great for storing little knick knacks.
How do you store memories?
xoxo
I was JUST on Ikea's website looking for storage boxes! This is a project I will be embarking on soon, since I've pretty much weeded out the things that didn't need to be kept…but I still want to hang on to so much!
You're definitely less of a hoarder than I am, I haven't even managed to throw away binders from elementary school yet! As for how I store memories, I'm definitely not organized and it is for the same reasons you explained. I love randomly coming across things and not knowing what you're going to find next, I think that is half the fun.
Can't wait to hear about where you're moving! Any chance that's what your recent trip to NYC was about?
My post on my blog today is going to be "The urge to purge" …. so we are currently in different camps! After a string of arsons occurring in my area, it forced me to sit back and think what would I do if my home burned down with everything in it. I reassessed what I had, what I was keeping and what I needed to protect. I bought a scanner and memory cards and critically assessed everything I had been storing.
I have boxes upon boxes of memories too!! I can't bear to get rid of any of them.
I totally get what you mean about keeping school projects.
I still have my Animal Cell project from Bio I. Sigh. What a great A that was.
It's definitely hard to get rid of things that made you once laugh, smile, and made you feel good.
I'm getting ready to move too, and getting everything put in some sort of storage before I leave my parent's house! I love the cute little containers you have and how it's just such a nice hodge-podge of things. I love the cute little storage containers you linked to, makes storing and organizing more fun!
Nice post!
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I also use a storage box… I kept all of my mementos in the bottom drawer of my dresser until I went to college. I just got a storage box from Marshall's and I'm in love with it! 🙂
Your post took me back to my own childhood! I adored the amelia line and I definitely saved all of my collaged notebooks 🙂 {sigh} to be young again!
Birdie Shoots
I'll be moving soon myself…I'm terrified of being a hoarder and see this moving opportunity as a chance to downsize. But you have a lot of really great memories in this post!