Family Heirlooms – What To Keep And How To Store It!

20 May 2015 Leave a Comment

by Nikki in Harmonious Home, JoyFULL Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Do you like to keep mementos or do you love to keep things clutter free?

We have become a bit of a throw away society. Modern decorating calls for a sleek and minimalist look and we are told to declutter and get rid of things we no longer need.

But are we throwing away all our precious memories and not keeping anything to share with our grandchildren?

This post is in collaboration with Fort Knox Storage.

family heirlooms

My family moved a lot. Not just within the same city, state or even country.

My father was in hotel management so we moved overseas and lived in 4 Australian States.

All this moving meant continually packing up and tossing out.

Other than lots of great photo’s I have nothing left from my childhood with one exception, a box of Lego. They are still the same today as they were decades ago when I was little. I did keep one Barbie doll and a few clothes but they literally disintegrated a while back.

Unfortunately I have done pretty much the same thing.

Moving house is the perfect excuse to get rid of stuff.

As the girls have grown up and grown out of things, I gave them away.

In hindsight I wish I had hung on to some of them like their awesome toy kitchen and mini timber hutch.

There are few things I have kept that are on the small side.

A pretty box full of mini treasures.

First day covers, patches from places I have visited, pins and our $1 and $2 notes.

Anyone can hold on to a few pieces of important life events to pass down or simply share stories with future generations.

The tricky part comes from deciding what to do with larger pieces.

Give them away, sell them or store them.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to hand your children’s bassinette down to their children?

Do you really want to get rid of that lovely sideboard that Aunty Mavis left you, even though it does not suit your décor right now?

The simple solution is to not clutter up your home or fill up your shed, but to hire a storage space.

Your precious things will be out of your way and kept safe and dry.

If you wish to store clothes such as wedding dresses etc, make sure they are clean and wrapped in acid free tissue paper to avoid staining.

Cover furniture items with old sheets as dust clothes.

If you pack up multiple items in a box before storing them, label them clearly and create a master list of every item you place in each box so that if you ever need to find it, you will know exactly where it is.

So before you get rid of something, decide whether it could be valuable or charming for future generations.

How many things have you got cluttering around your home that could be put in storage for safe keeping?