Sorting out sentimental items (mementos) (Marie Kondo)

How can I sort out sentimental items effectively? Learn Marie Kondo’s method to declutter sentimental items and live in the present.

This an excerpt from a summary of Marie Kondo's book 'the life-changing magic of tidying up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing.' You can access the full book summary via the link icon.

The last and most difficult category for discarding concerns items with sentimental value. We fear that by discarding an item, we lose the memory that accompanies it.

The truth is that truly precious memories never vanish. And when they do, we will not feel bad about it, because we will have forgotten.

We live in the present. No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important.

By discarding mementos, you process, or ‘settle’ your past. Keeping these items prevents you from living in the here and now. To put your things in order means to put your past in order, too.

It is not our memories but the person we have become that we should treasure. This is the lesson these sentimental items teach us when we sort them. The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.

Photos

The correct method to sort photos is to remove them all them from their albums and look at them one by one. You will be surprised how clearly you can differentiate between photos that touch your heart and photos that do not.

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