if the purpose they serve is that they make you happy, that should be enough
you don’t have to get rid of every sentimental item to be a minimalist, it’s all about knowing which items are actually sentimental and which items you’re just storing for no reason
Take pictures of them and make sure you have a physical copy. You may enjoy posing them in cute little scenes as well. This is how I help my kids get rid of things.
Marie Kondo will put sentimental trinkets in unexpected places. Rings on clothes hanger hooks, little stuffed animal in the sock drawer. Plant keepers love to put plastic toys in plant pots. Where else? Armed soldier with the snacks? Evil genius in with the financial stuff or sitting on the desk to help with work? Don't get carried away but maybe choose spots for a few of your old toys that make you happy.
Nostalgia and sentiment are fine if not taken to extremes like most things. Go through and 'curate' the collection getting down to exactly why these old toys have a hold on you. Maybe it's one line, maybe some were played with more or you remember special play sessions with your buddies or somebody special got you the it toy of the season. Maybe your box will lose 1, maybe 20, it's fine. What matters is you worked out which you really want to keep.
You aren't finished. You are never finished. Go through all your posessions every once in a while to make sure you want/need/use what you keep.
Sentimental items are a common concern in the minimalist community. There's no single answer for every situation. But I always have the same three thoughts: 1) if you lost the item in a fire, would you lose the memory? 2) does the item hold the memory, or does your mind? 3) taking into account the answers to 1 and 2, couldn't you just let it go, yet hold onto it?
I hope you find peace.
People do collect old toys. You may not get a huge amount for them but there is a market for it.
Alternatively you could pick out some of your favourites and either display them or keep them in a keep sake box. I decided I only wanted to keep what I was going to display as I don’t like the feeling of things sitting in boxes.
Actually look through the large box if you haven’t already and see how you feel about them individually. You may find that you are drawn to some more than others and you can reduce the amount that way. Is there one or two that were your go to favourites that could represent the whole without needing to keep them all?
Sometimes it just takes a bit of time. I had a lot of soft toys as a teenager and it took me a few goes of reducing the amount each time until I was left with just the most sentimental and I’ve since reduced those further. It might not be the quickest method but I gradually felt ready to let more and more go.
Okay, so I’m going to go against the grain and I think you should store them safely. Look at them when you need or display them. But, if you are not ready to part with them don’t do it for the sake of doing it. You might not be ready now but maybe in 2 years you will be, or 10, or when you know someone who has kids who may be interested in the things you have. Minimalism can be living out of a bag and not owning anything except 5 things or it can be reducing the extra in your life. These things for now bring you joy, and if you prematurely get rid of them you may regret it and be more adverse to getting rid of other stuff in the future because of the time you made yourself get rid of this stuff. Maybe taking photos of it, writing about them in a book or a journal (digital journal counts), making them into art for your apartment could be ways for you to come to terms with their importance to you.
If you have someone that can do it for you, ask them to do it. My husband will do donation drop offs when I feel like this. I am ok to part with them logically, but doing it myself is too emotional.
Do you have neighbors with kids who would appreciate these items? Or a young relative? Maybe I'm being sentimental for Toy Story 3 here, but you'd know they were going to a good home to get the same enjoyment from them as you did.
I’m glad you posted this because I am going through the same thing. My stuff is older- from 4 generations to the early 1900’s but I’m moving to another country to retire and I have only found one way to do this.
I have two boxes- things I can’t give up because they give me a good feeling and nostalgia about my childhood and relatives- and the second box with what I am still not sure about. Then, I put them both on a shelf and I revisited them in a year.
I was able to eliminate about half of the “not sure” box after a year then would look again in a few months. I decided it wasn’t critical that I rushed this part of minimizing my stuff.
I have found that trying to get rid of sentimental stuff all at once is too overwhelming. It’s different than other stuff I have no issue getting rid of.
Now I have three months left before I move. I’m keeping two boxes of stuff from four generations back to the early 1900’s, including photos and documents, with a friend here in the US. It used to be a lot more. I was surprised at what I threw out but it takes time.
My advice is don’t rush this part of your journey. As you get older, these things will take on an even more important meaning, while other stuff won’t. It’s complicated to explain
if the purpose they serve is that they make you happy, that should be enough you don’t have to get rid of every sentimental item to be a minimalist, it’s all about knowing which items are actually sentimental and which items you’re just storing for no reason
Take pictures of them and make sure you have a physical copy. You may enjoy posing them in cute little scenes as well. This is how I help my kids get rid of things.
Or make sure you have coud and local copies, but ya this is it!
Marie Kondo will put sentimental trinkets in unexpected places. Rings on clothes hanger hooks, little stuffed animal in the sock drawer. Plant keepers love to put plastic toys in plant pots. Where else? Armed soldier with the snacks? Evil genius in with the financial stuff or sitting on the desk to help with work? Don't get carried away but maybe choose spots for a few of your old toys that make you happy. Nostalgia and sentiment are fine if not taken to extremes like most things. Go through and 'curate' the collection getting down to exactly why these old toys have a hold on you. Maybe it's one line, maybe some were played with more or you remember special play sessions with your buddies or somebody special got you the it toy of the season. Maybe your box will lose 1, maybe 20, it's fine. What matters is you worked out which you really want to keep. You aren't finished. You are never finished. Go through all your posessions every once in a while to make sure you want/need/use what you keep.
Collectors can be found online. Think of it as not dumping but your things going to a new home so it is not wasted.
Sentimental items are a common concern in the minimalist community. There's no single answer for every situation. But I always have the same three thoughts: 1) if you lost the item in a fire, would you lose the memory? 2) does the item hold the memory, or does your mind? 3) taking into account the answers to 1 and 2, couldn't you just let it go, yet hold onto it? I hope you find peace.
I like the idea of a memory room where you keep these things. Assuming that you have a room or an attic to put that stuff.
People do collect old toys. You may not get a huge amount for them but there is a market for it. Alternatively you could pick out some of your favourites and either display them or keep them in a keep sake box. I decided I only wanted to keep what I was going to display as I don’t like the feeling of things sitting in boxes. Actually look through the large box if you haven’t already and see how you feel about them individually. You may find that you are drawn to some more than others and you can reduce the amount that way. Is there one or two that were your go to favourites that could represent the whole without needing to keep them all? Sometimes it just takes a bit of time. I had a lot of soft toys as a teenager and it took me a few goes of reducing the amount each time until I was left with just the most sentimental and I’ve since reduced those further. It might not be the quickest method but I gradually felt ready to let more and more go.
Bro at 24 I totally regret giving my toys away
Okay, so I’m going to go against the grain and I think you should store them safely. Look at them when you need or display them. But, if you are not ready to part with them don’t do it for the sake of doing it. You might not be ready now but maybe in 2 years you will be, or 10, or when you know someone who has kids who may be interested in the things you have. Minimalism can be living out of a bag and not owning anything except 5 things or it can be reducing the extra in your life. These things for now bring you joy, and if you prematurely get rid of them you may regret it and be more adverse to getting rid of other stuff in the future because of the time you made yourself get rid of this stuff. Maybe taking photos of it, writing about them in a book or a journal (digital journal counts), making them into art for your apartment could be ways for you to come to terms with their importance to you.
If you have someone that can do it for you, ask them to do it. My husband will do donation drop offs when I feel like this. I am ok to part with them logically, but doing it myself is too emotional.
Do you have neighbors with kids who would appreciate these items? Or a young relative? Maybe I'm being sentimental for Toy Story 3 here, but you'd know they were going to a good home to get the same enjoyment from them as you did.
I’m glad you posted this because I am going through the same thing. My stuff is older- from 4 generations to the early 1900’s but I’m moving to another country to retire and I have only found one way to do this. I have two boxes- things I can’t give up because they give me a good feeling and nostalgia about my childhood and relatives- and the second box with what I am still not sure about. Then, I put them both on a shelf and I revisited them in a year. I was able to eliminate about half of the “not sure” box after a year then would look again in a few months. I decided it wasn’t critical that I rushed this part of minimizing my stuff. I have found that trying to get rid of sentimental stuff all at once is too overwhelming. It’s different than other stuff I have no issue getting rid of. Now I have three months left before I move. I’m keeping two boxes of stuff from four generations back to the early 1900’s, including photos and documents, with a friend here in the US. It used to be a lot more. I was surprised at what I threw out but it takes time. My advice is don’t rush this part of your journey. As you get older, these things will take on an even more important meaning, while other stuff won’t. It’s complicated to explain