Deciding What to Keep for Memories

You simply must make a memory quilt. You can have it made at a quilt shop if you dont sew.
Also, make sure you store everything in acid free containers. If you dont want to do acid free containers then wrap everything in acid free tissue paper.
Keep everything that means anything to you. Keep things you think your future grandchildren will want to use. It is so fun for grown children and their children to look through old boxes of stuff. When your kids have children then they can take what they want and you can get rid of the rest.
Oh..and never store textiles in plastic drycleaning bags. They will discolor.

I have a big plastic tub that I'm keeping special blankets (were handmade), clothing that were given by family members for baby presents and Christmas presents. I'm only keeping special clothing (really cute outfits that family members have bought, if they are handmade, like a crocheted sweater that was my brothers, also we are big UK fans, so I'm keeping all the UK outfits and Aggie outfits). I'm keeping all his drawings and all things he makes at Sunday School/Preschool. I have a neat personalized folder to put it in. Later on down the road, I may take pictures of it and put it in a scrapbook or in a box, instead of keeping it all. As over the years the pile of drawings will increase and keep increasing and we won't space for it all. Toys, I'm keeping some special rattles, that were mine and maybe a few special toys. I'm not planning on keeping all of his toys, our house isn't big enough and I don't want to take up all the attic to store all his toys! I am keeping children's books as they can be handed down to your grandchildren and their children, etc... stuffed animals, I'll definitely keep 3-5 that were really special for my child that he paid attention to the most.

My Grandmother stored her clothes and things in an old chest in her basement. I would wrap them in tissue paper or some type of protective covers. My Grandmother had her silk wedding dress stored in a box wrapped in blue tissue paper and it held up so well. The bugs didn't get to it and there were no stains on it. I was so glad she preserved it and I was able to use it for the trim of my dress.

My child is 2 years old, so I deal with it each year in the fall. I've sold some things to Just Between Friends Consingment Sales and donated things to friends, church and United Community Centers where other kids can benefit. There is Just Between Friends sales coming up in Sept so check out there website www.jbfsale.com You might consider selling some things or handing them down to other members in your family. You could donate things to your church or community centers or shelters.

My Mom saved some of my fancy/nice clothes, some of toys, barbies, clothes for the barbies, pillows, quilts, halloween costumes. I'm glad she saved these things, as we've been able to use some of these things with my child and some of the foster kids that we've had in our home. Some of Barbies didn't survive the heat in Mom's attic. So, when I got them their arms/legs fell off, where the glue wore off. So, they died and I pitched them. If you have dolls and want to save them and preserve them, I would talk to a Doll Specialist or someone who could advise on how to preserve your doll (Antique Dealer or someone who fixes dolls). Some clothing you can get the long plastic bags that hang on closet rods that should do well just like that for many years. I would try Container Store, maybe they could advise you on how specifically to store clothing, toys, dolls,etc... There might even be some books at the library to help on this topic. You could try searching the internet also.

Overall, I'm keeping things that are really special to me or to my child/husband. Yes, you can keep everything, however you may not have room for everything unless you have a very large house!! I am a packrat, however I'm working on organizing our home and getting rid of some things too.

I have our Son's big red tub in his closet, it isn't in the way, as it sits under a shelf. In a year a two, I might want to move it to the attic or garage or somewhere else. We have our garage filled with boxes, stuff we need to sort thru. We have lots of storage space here at our house with closets, attic, garage. You might want to set a limit 10-15 items for each child or each person and that might help you set some guidelines for everyone. I would keep the things that have special memories for you or your children/family, family heirlooms, monogrammed things, handmade things. Hope this helps you.

As a former Container Store employee, I can give you a few tips on safe storage. I would try to avoid the attic for your most special clothing items. The heat will bring to the surface old milk/protein stains and they are difficult to remove. You can purchasse acid free boxes and tissue at Container Store or on the website. They keep things from discoloring. A very good investment for antique or very special items (like christening gown, wedding dress, quilt, etc.) I recommend cedar or moth away type items for the items being stored long-term. These products come in an array of sizes to suit your needs. A good rule of thumb, if you can't smell the cedar then the buggies can't either. You can renew cedar items by rubbing them with sand paper.

The artwork does work best when it is photographed. It really does start to add up, if you keep the actual pieces. I like to keep their work for about 6 months and then go through it again when we are not so emotionally attached. I have saved items that reflect personality and hand-size.

My MIL kept lots of her kids things and our children play with those toys. It is very endearing. Alas, my Mom was not a saver so there is little left of mine. Let your heart be your final guide!

K.

I was in your same situation many years ago,so here I am with 2 grown girls and 3 grandchildren.I think the most important thing to ask yourself is what would you want to keep if there was a fire.Well I kept babyshoes{like the first hitops,the first clothes from the day we brought the baby home from the hospital,one little cloth doll{she had a dress that matched the dress on the doll} her favorite stuffed toy,a piece of the blankie,{about a 8x8 piece }a first day at school pic.Not too long ago my 24yr old went through the box and the look in her eyes made me not have a bit of regret dragging that stuff around! They're only a baby once!

I'm saving some of my daughter's special clothes to make a quilt out of some day. I've kept her coming home outfit, some of the favorite outfits that she wears all the time, a few special pieces that say things like "Daddy's Girl" etc. I am also keeping all of her first b-day cards and notes from parents and grandparents plus a few special stuffed animals, first shoes, part of her bedding. I'm sure I'll add pieces of artwork or special notes that she writes me over the years along with her baby book and some pictures. Anything that can go in the quilt will and I plan on collecting pieces for it throughout her life. The rest of the stuff is in a box now, but I plan on buying her a nice trunk.

My mom kept everything of mine for me. But, my DD has a TON of toys!!! It is not practical for me to save everything.

So, I am keeping all her NB items that she came home from the hospital with. Her first Shoes, First Walking shoes, First Dress up shoes. Some of my fav. outfits she wore. Halloween costumes. Her fav. toys and books. I keep the outfits that she has Pictures taken in. and things that has sentimental value to me.

No need to keep things like balls, ball popper, exercauser, and every other misc toy.

If you feel that you would ask yourself "Why did I not keep that?!" Then you should keep it!

My mom still has about 2 huge storage bins of our baby clothes, and lots of clothes from my dad who passed away 5 years ago.

One thing you can do with old clothes, is have a quilt made out of them. I also have a lot of stuffed animals from when I was younger, but mostly they are collectibles now or I let my kids play with them.

As for some things, like artwork and other random items, we displayed them all together and took pictures of them. So now I have pictures I can look at for those memories, and I got rid of the items for storage sake.

I agree about keeping some of the stories and pictures. My daughter is 10 now and loves to look at and laugh at the stuff she did just a few years ago in kindergarten :-) One thing I kept in the baby box that my daughter thinks is hilarious to look at is her first size diaper (not used of course). It is so tiny and she can't believe she was ever small enough to wear something like it. She does have one doll that we've kept up with since birth that I think we'll always have - a soft Precious Moments girl baby that has been very well loved that my daughter always called "Baby Girl". To this day, she'll sometimes ask me to take it down from her tall shelf so she can sleep with it. :-)

my mom kept some stuff for me. I don't really care that much about the clothes, though they are kind of neat. But I gave them to my daughter for her "babies" to wear. What I do like so much are things that I wrote. I like to read stories that I wrote as a child, or see pictures that I drew. I don't know why really. I also like the silver spoon and silver rattle and kept those. Threw away the empty bottle of champagne, but kept my birth announcement.
Recently, my grandfather moved out of his house and his wife (he remarried 15 years ago) gave me some of my grandmother's things. My favorite is a letter that she wrote to her in-laws her first day as a housewife after she quit her job. I'm not sure why they kept it, except that maybe they were so relieved she wasn't a working wife anymore! It's just like a moment in time frozen forever. And I looked at the postmark and did the math. She was pregnant with my dad but didn't know it yet!

Hope this helps!

A.
www.greenbabydiaperservice.com

Stories, and funny things that my kids said. I write down almost everything that makes me laugh that they do. Julia likes to look through her box and see the stories and pictures, and her first shoes. She made fun of me for keeping her umbilical stump, but enjoys everything else. We kept her "bobby" (code for blanket). With my new baby we kept her first empty jar of babyfood, birth announcements, baby shower invite, cards from family members, umbilical stump (don't laugh) :) , hospital bracelet, etc. I like looking at my childhood memories. My mom kept my bottle of oragel (?), and it's cool to see how old it is now! Pretty much just keep the things that touch your heart, i.e. first picture they drew for you, yearbooks, cute pictures, etc.