Help! Serious addiction to keeping everything! - Need some advice.

coasterqueen wrote: I have a serious addiction to keeping every card, memoir, picture...everything! I'm reorganizing my closets and I have one closet FULL of photo albums, scrap books, boxes of photos, cards, etc, etc, etc. And this is only for the last 12 years. I don't even have all of Kylie's keepsakes in there yet.

What does everyone else do? I'm going to have to build a house to put all the stuff I accumulate over my lifetime at the rate I'm going.

I know I keep things like this because my mom didn't keep anything of mine and that makes me sad.

I thought about putting all my photos on cd and getting rid of the albums, but what about when you are showing them to people? People like to see albums instead right?

I know I'll never be able to drag all that stuff with me in case of a fire either.

I can see things getting worse as Kylie gets older and this baby gets here.

Any suggestions? What do you all do???

MommyToAshley replied: I am the same way, at least with anything related to Ashley or DH. So, I can't give you any advice... except maybe we both need to call the Clean Sweep team.

amynicole21 replied: I'm as bad as you! We've been getting better about her artwork, though... now we put about 10 up on the wall and when a new one comes home we replace an old one with it... rotation is the key I keep cards until I get fed up and throw piles and piles away... that's how I just found a $50 gift card to babies r us that I forgot from my baby shower!

Maddie&EthansMom replied: No help here, either!! I did get some under the bed storage boxes for her school stuff. So far I have 2 years accumulated in one box. Maybe something like this would work for you? I'm so unorganized, really. I have my sewing stuff, scrapbooking stuff, pictures galore, gift wrapping stuff and several other things in the hall closet. I try to make it look neat, but it is madness. I have a lot of my keepsakes in the attic, too. DH hates that!!

ediep replied: I don't really save cards but I do make scrapbooks with some cards and pictures and other keepsake items.
Good lUck

coasterqueen replied: UGH! Not sure what I'm going to do. I'm very organized with the stuff though. I have all the photo albums labeled and all the boxes labeled by year. It's just getting chaotic, lol. Like I said I have a closet FULL of boxes and albums. It's only going to get worse.

What's everyone's idea on photos on cd instead of albums? Do you do that or are you the same as me...you think people would rather see them in albums? I have from Christmas 2003 til now on digital so I have them on computer but I also print out the pics and put them in albums.

kit_kats_mom replied: I'm fine with digital. I figure when/if I ever get free time...like when I retire maybe?? I'll print off the great ones and make scrapbooks or something.

As for K's artwork, I do the same thing as Amy Nicole, we rotate some on display on her corkboard in the playroom. When a piece comes down we either a) toss it put it in an accoridian file under either mama (my mom) or nana (MIL) or other. Then whenever one of them comes over, I give them a load of old artwork to trash or treasure.

Over time I'm sure I will find some pieces that are special enough to frame and those will go on the "family wall".

I've been pretty good about not keeping too much stuff. I've kept all of my wedding stuff though...I mean everything.

momof2girls replied: I keep all the stuff too Im really bad so I cant give you any advice I keep it organized and I think its neat, my mom did not save any of my things so I think that is why I do it too!

maestra replied: Dh thinks I'm mean, but......I throw away almost every card I get just after I get it. Unless it's something really special, like one where dh wrote me a special note, the last card I got from my grandma before she died, etc. I only have about 4 boxes of paperwork, etc in my closet.

As for albums, I like them better than cd- but I really don't see that as clutter as long as the pictures are in an album, not just in a box (like my mil does!)

I save important mementos from Jaci, but not everything. She doesn't really draw too much yet, so we haven't saved any artwork (she mostly still tries to eat the crayons or organize them).

dolfinrse replied: I'm not too much help either, I save everything. I still have the ticket stub from dh's and my first date, we went to the circus. I have all the cards from Zack's baby shower too and every single card dh has ever given me over the past 6 years.

TeagansMom609 replied: I am the same way. Ever since I was in my early teens I started keeping everything that reminded me of something. A person, a time, something I did, somewhere I went. Now with the baby here im even worse! Someone could give me a peice of grass and tell me to keep it forever and I will.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I used to be like this! I have shoeboxes full of cards and pictures from all of the kids birthdays. I have clothes that they wore, balloons that they were given when they were born. I kept everything, every single piece of artwork they did at school, every note they wrote me, every card they ever recieved! One day I don't know why, but I decided enough was enough and I went through everything. My priorities changed, having a 3rd child they had too. I decided that they each could have 2 boxes. One box has baby clothes and knitted outfits, the other box has cards, letters and keepsakes. It was really hard to go through everything and only have 2 boxes for each of them.

Jamison'smama replied: I save everything also--I do prefer scrapbooks over digital--I have both also--


As for the cards, I don't save many but for instance all my wedding cards, I cut up and modge podged them onto a wooden serving tray so I have a nice keepsake----
for Jamison's birth cards/shower cards, I plan to cover a heart shaped step stool that I bought her. That way if feels like I am keeping them but without the clutter and actually doing something with them so that I can enjoy them. I didn't cut up the most important ones--from grandparents etc.

ediep replied:
ooohhhhh Good ideas!! I just love being crafty!!!!