3 Clever Ideas To Store, Protect & Organize Your Memories

As we downsize or inherit or just live in smaller quarters, most people are challenged with how to organize and store their memories and treasures.

Here are some clever and creative ways to keep those memories alive without taking up all your precious real estate and creating clutter.

Memory Jar

I just recently created a “memory jar” for a client whose spouse had passed away. We took items of particular meaning and arranged them in a jar that is displayed on a shelf in the living room. It is a very special memento of a very special and beloved person that can be seen every single day.

Why keep mementos of special people or events in your life hidden away in a box or bin in the basement rarely if ever to be seen?

Take this idea and apply it to just about anything – people, vacations, events. For instance, my husband likes to bring sand and a couple of sea shells back from vacations that we have taken. We put the sand in the jar, mark the shells using a Sharpie with the names of the cities we visited and we have one jar with all his memories.

Photo mania

Photos are always an issue when we’re de cluttering and organizing a home. I can’t stress enough the need to toss or give away all those old pictures that either you don’t look great in or you have forgotten who is in the picture. And what about all those blurry photos? Why are you keeping those? The rest can be stored either in a photo box (rather than a bunch of binders) or even yet kept on a CD, memory stick or even in the cloud for easy retrieval. Of course print and display those pictures that are really special to you.

Treasures

Do you have your wedding dress tucked away somewhere or an old childhood blanket? What about dad’s old favourite sweater? I will bet these items rarely, if ever, are looked at. How about creating a memory blanket with some of these souvenirs that can be used as a throw or a decorative piece that you can actually see and be reminded of those items or occasions.

Don’t worry if you can’t sew, there are plenty of seamstresses or shops out there that could do this for you at a very reasonable rate.

There are so many other creative ways of storing your precious memories, from scrap books to journals to even creating your own website. My dad passed away not too long ago and I am so disappointed that we did not think to get him to write down or dictate to us some of his stories and memories of his life to pass on. Get creative and start some of these projects to reduce your clutter and to share and preserve your precious memories.

Don’t leave them in the bottom of a cardboard box in your basement or garage to disintegrate, get destroyed and lost forever!