I came across a crotched piano runner my Grandmother made for me when I was sorting through my linen closet a few weeks ago. I don't love the piano runner now and never did.  But yet I kept it in my special linens bin because I love my Grandma, and she handmade this for me.

What a tripe whammy:  gift, homemade, Grandma.  Guilt from three angles.  Any one of these can make getting rid of something difficult.  But three of them? What’s a girl to do?

One of my favorite methods is to try to find a good home for the item. I think many of us wish that what we have a hard time parting with will be enjoyed by someone else.

Some things are just too hard to donate. Maybe it’s because we never really know what happens to them.  I donate many things, most of the time without  a second thought, probably because they don’t have any feelings associated with them.

So each month that I go to my book club I bring a bag of things that I want to find a good home.  Many times I have great success with this and feel a bit like the matchmaker.  My friends take home something they love, and I get the satisfaction of seeing my things appreciated again or maybe for the first time.

I just sent a note out to the family to see if anyone wants the piano runner. If not, to book club it goes next month.  And if no one wants it, I feel better for at least trying to find it a good home, and that makes the guilt go away, triple whammy or not.

Until this past weekend, I had pockets of memorabilia throughout my house.  All of it was contained, nothing I considered out of hand, but I hadn’t looked at some of it in years.  I decided I wanted to pull it all into one place and go through it to see what still had meaning.  Key concept here: Still had meaning, not meaningful years ago.

So what did I find? I found the very first real, store-bought -from-Hallmark valentine I got from a boy in 4th grade.  It gave me loads of smiles then.  And I’m sure the basketball tournament ticket stub from 8th grade was once very meaningful.  I’m guessing someone significant made meaningful eye contact with me at one, or maybe two, games. 

What did I feel for both things now? Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

Why did I still have them (and more of their brothers and sisters)? Because I hadn’t looked through the spiral-bound School Record pockets since… I honestly can’t remember.  Or the jewelry boxes in deep storage.  Or the baby clothes I thought I had already given away.

It was great fun to do this with a friend.  She brought bins of cards, letters, pictures, and we hooted with each other over some really funny stuff.  We lit a roaring fire and burned some things, recycled, pitched, and packed other things for goodwill. 

It wasn't easy.  Some things were very sticky.  When in doubt I kept some things and got rid of others.  There are no right answers. 

At the end of the night as we were sipping gin and tonics in front of the mound of burning ash, we thought these things were worth keeping in mind:

1. Just because you have space for it doesn’t mean it isn’t clutter.  Storing things that have no meaning  anymore is pointless, and it takes up room that could be used for something better. 
2. Set up systems for incoming memorabilia.  I now have large envelopes where I will store cards from my children, and they each have a container for school memorabilia.
   
3. Set limits to how much to keep and store. When the container/drawer/closet is full, it will be a reminder to purge again.  Remember, some of it won’t be meaningful any more.  Trust me on this.
4. Consider our children's future when saving things "for" them.  We're usually saving it for ourselves.  Let's make it easier on them by not having box after box of old clothes, dolls, cards and figurines stored for them. Yes, I know grandma made that dress for me when I was four, and it was darling.  But the chance of my own daughter wearing it 30+ years later was nil. Now I've put it in the goodwill pile after all these years of storing and moving.  It's just fabric.  It's not Grandma.
   

Of all the things we keep, I think memorabilia is the most ripe for feelings of guilt.  I truly believe that we are most restored and at peace in our homes when we are surrounded by things we use or love, and we cannot be if we are keeping things out of obligation.  The more we release and let go of these things, the more free we will feel, and the less sticky everything becomes.