There is no lack of books and blogs and websites about decluttering. It has the feel of a fad. I, for one, have moved to a very small place and yearn for a tiny home. HOWEVER, what about all those sentimental items? Family photos are just the beginning for me. Chances are I will not need my grandmother’s ration coupons from the second World War, but I have them. And my grandfather’s 1920 college yearbook from Union College. And of course there are also the documents and photographs from my paternal relatives as well. Oy.
I have some lovely photographs of ancestors I cannot name. This is a bookmark I made from a postcard I inherited of a lovely little girl, but there is no one left who could indentify her.
So this is how this works. My grandmother leaves ephemera to my mother. My mom then adds the keepsakes from my childhood. She cannot bring herself to toss them out, so she leaves them to me. I add the mementos from my son’s childhood and so it goes…and grows.