Keepsakes. Almost everyone has them. Things from our past. Things from our travels. Things from our relationships. Our kids. Pets. Careers. Accomplishments. 

No matter how you slice it — our lives revolve around stuff. And for a lot of us, we either stick that stuff up in the attic, out in the garage, in a filing cabinet in our office or high up on a shelf where it collects a thick layer of dust.

Especially, when you don’t know where to begin organizing keepsakes, how to ensure you’re not getting rid of things you’ll regret later on or cutting through all of these things to identify what actually has meaning to us is… well, time consuming. 

With over a decade of experience helping clients design + organize their homes — let’s dive into several keepsakes that could be displayed or stored in your home.

What Is A Keepsake?

By definition, keepsakes are something kept or given as a memento. 

And a memento is something that serves to remind you of the past. My hope is as you read the rest of this article you will keep that definition in mind.

Identify Clutter

At Elegant Simplicity, we’re BIG believers in taking the necessary time to plan your work + then work your plan. Whether we’re designing or organizing, the first step of that plan in creating a home that’s unique to you. That has everything you need + nothing more is always going, to begin with assessing.

When we talk about assessing keepsakes — what we’re really trying to do is ensure that whatever remains after we’re done has a lot of meaning to you. And you might say, well everything in this box, bin or cabinet has a lot of significance to me can’t we just skip this step?

And the reality is… ya ready for it? No. 

Ya, see, friend. What’s clutter to me can be drastically different for you. When I look at a pile of old ticket stubs, kids artwork or certificates I’m missing context. I’m missing the memories that are cherished and the love that’s a part of adoring this memento because I wasn’t there.

Furthermore, and equally as important… simply because something made its way to your keepsake dumping grounds once, doesn’t mean it’s worthy of staying there for a lifetime.

So in order to curate your home in a thoughtful and intentional way — you have to start by looking at your keepsakes and asking yourself, a really simple question:

Do I love it?

If you love it then you should absolutely keep it. But if you waver for a moment, I want you to consider the next question. 

Why doesn’t it have a place in my home?

Keepsakes are the bits and pieces of our lives (or someone else's life that have been given to us) that are meant to be shared with others. And so our belief at Elegant Simplicity is that in general — most keepsakes should be on display throughout your home.

Keepsakes tell a significant story. And you’re keeping them because they have meaning to you — yet most of us corral them into a plastic bin + stow them high up on a shelf as if they don’t exist. 

Most of us, don’t afford ourselves the opportunity to share those stories with everyone or anyone who comes to our homes. We allow those memories to be… at least until you open that memory box again.

Isn’t that sad? Hell yeah, it is!

Tackling Sentimental Clutter 

It’s important to remember letting go of keepsakes can be really easy for some + really difficult for others.

But what you want to do is keep in mind WHY you’re doing this in the first place — which is to create a home with everything YOU need + nothing more. A home that’s unique to you + your family and is filled with the things that matter most.

We’ve talked a lot about how to tackle sentimental clutter on the blog already so go on + give it a read.

Organizing Keepsakes

Now, that we’ve laid the groundwork. I also want to be clear that having keepsakes stored away to protect them isn’t something that we frown upon at Elegant Simplicity. And that’s because not everything needs to be on display, all of the time. 

Which leads us to organizing your keepsakes. The first step to organizing anything is to really begin by grouping like items together. In other words, categorize your belongings by asking yourself a simple question:

What type of keepsakes or mementos do I have?

From things like your professional certificates + personal achievements, kids artwork, letters, notes or cards to things like old movie tickets or small family heirlooms.

Once you have things categorized, now you’re really ready to consider either storing these items away + the perfect solutions for doing so or how you might go about incorporating those into display areas in your home.

Storing + Displaying Keepsakes

As an interior design + professional organizing firm, we’re always considering how we can subtly remind our clients of both where they were, where they are + where they’re headed. So… let’s first consider a number of keepsakes that could be displayed in your home. 

Then, let’s look at how to properly store them when not in use.

Professional + Personal Achievements

Part of inspiring + motivating yourself to LIVE life on your terms is to see some of what you’ve accomplished already.  From any professional career recognition to your own personal achievements like running a marathon or a memento from cycling across the country when done tastefully these keepsakes tell a part of who you are.

This can be difficult for some but when it comes to both professional + personal achievements, what kind of story does it tell? Perseverance, courage, dedication? 

Kids Artwork

One of the most common challenges for many people is what to do with kids' artwork. Some of our clients love the idea of holding onto the physical art itself. We encourage you to talk through it with your kids to select + frame a few pieces for display in their room. 

But what we also recommend is digitizing their artwork (there are actually services out there who do this for you). Both help to encourage your kids to continue being creative because they each show (framing + digitizing) you cherish their work.

You can stow the rest… for now ;)

Photos

Another keepsake area that a lot of clients struggle with is what to do with all their photos. And similar to kid’s artwork, what we recommend is digitizing the photos you want to keep but don’t want to have on your walls. What this allows you to do is incorporate a digital photo frame and cherish these moments as they appear ;)

Cards, Notes, Ticket Stubs + Other Flat Keepsakes

As you can see by now, we’re all about putting as many of your keepsakes on display in your home as possible. It’s intentional, thought-provoking and really creates a home that's unique to you. And that’s easy to see for some of the things we’ve already discussed but what do you do with cards, notes, ticket stubs or other relatively flat keepsakes or momentos? 

What we recommend is having a custom scrapbook created (again, there are services to have this done in beautiful ways) that you can have out on your coffee table, sideboard, or media console.

Keepsake Storage

Alright, now that we’ve done our best to encourage you to incorporate as much of those keepsakes into your home as possible — we also know that there are things in life you simply don’t want out on display but you’re not ready to part with either.

For those things from your past or your children’s past, what we recommend is storage boxes. Remember when we categorized those mementos a few sections up?

Welp, now that you’ve done the hard work of decluttering + then categorizing you’re ready to purchase storage solutions for any remaining keepsakes.

If you won't be storing them inside your home + rather in an attic, garage or basement then you want to ensure they’ll not only stay dry but also protected from harsh sunlight, dust, humidity + even bugs.

Managing + Maintaining Mementos

For anything that is stored away, we recommend you revisit those keepsakes at least once a year + ask yourself the same questions.

Do I love it?

Why doesn’t it have a place in my home?

What you’ll often find (+ I know this from both personal and professional experience) is that what was once a significant keepsake to you, that you consistently year after year don’t display, will one day be something you’re willing to part with. And that’s because in the time between when you decided to keep it + the moment you’re deciding to get rid of it — you’ve had all these OTHER wonderful memories that are worth celebrating + sharing with others.


Well, there you have it...everything you need to know to successfully organize your keepsakes. 

We know that life is wonderfully chaotic + it can be difficult to make the time to create a home that honors your past + at the same time makes room for your future. So… don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat. 

P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.