Family Treasures & Heirlooms: To Store or Not to Store?
That is the question. One that seemingly often comes up for individuals, especially during major life events such as divorcing, downsizing, relocating, emptying the “nest”, or simply renovating the home. During these stressful times, it can become difficult to make decisions about the accumulation in your home, however, this is the perfect time to methodically tackle this job. Take a deep breath and keep this in mind:
Many families pass on antiques and heirlooms from generation to generation. Some items have great monetary value, and some have great sentimental value. While it is perfectly fine to give yourself permission to declutter some of these items, it is equally important to develop a strong family narrative for your children and family heirlooms help weave that story. Consider passing down some of these things to your next generation.
- Recipes and cookbooks – who doesn’t want Mom’s meatball or Grandma’s sugar cookie recipe?
- Toys – not all the toys, but maybe the beloved Thomas the Train collection or American Girl Dolls
- Holiday décor – nothing will bring back precious memories for your children like tree ornaments that adorned their childhood Christmas trees
- Jewelry – vintage jewelry is awesome, or can be re-imagined into something completely new by a jeweler
- Photos and scrapbooks – consider digitizing old photos to save space and to preserve them
- Vintage clothing – wedding gowns, baby blankets, christening gowns all are heirlooms and will be worn for generations
- Collections – coins, stamps, baseball cards, or perhaps heirloom garden seeds or a perennial flower collection
- Furniture – obviously much harder to store so try to stick with items in good repair that can be used or displayed
When you are making decisions on what to keep, focus on things that you truly love, have adequate space for, and can be properly cared for. Realize that conversations with your kids during this process will most certainly be necessary. You may be surprised as to what they wish to keep and what holds no sentimental value to them.
Once you have determined what you are saving for your children, sometimes the biggest challenge is condensing the items into a manageable amount of space that doesn’t overwhelm you or the kids. Remember, you very well will be storing these things for years before they are passed on. Keep in mind that garage storage could be a dangerous risk to your valuables in the long run. If that is your only alternative, consider a climate-controlled self-storage facility where you can indefinitely store your treasured items safely. In Towne Self-Storage is staffed 7 days a week with storage experts that can assist you with your storage solutions.
