If you've ever done a big declutter of your personal items, you would probably know the difficulty of deciding which keepsakes to hold onto, and what to get rid of. Although I consider myself pretty ruthless at getting rid of clutter, I definitely like to hold onto those things with emotional value. In this post, I'm showing you how we store these precious items inside a Memory Box.
BONUS: Get your free paperwork workbook to help you create better systems for organising your paperwork by clicking on the button below!
In the last few years, both my mum and mother-in-law have passed on our own childhood memory boxes. I found it so lovely to sit down and go through all the old keepsakes - drawings and stories from primary school; notes and letters from friends; special cards from family; diaries; and little knick-knacks. So special, and definitely something I want to be able to pass onto my own children one day...
Had to share this poster from when I was in grade 2, because the letter 'O' made me laugh - definitely the truth!
Pictured below is our home office that is located within our bedroom. We designed it entirely based on this set-up from IHeart Organizing. I actually don't use this area as much as I thought I would because I prefer the kitchen table which has better lighting, and I can keep an eye on the kids as I work. But what I do love about this area is the amount of storage it provides. Let's take a closer look...
If you'd like to learn more about organising paperwork, including your daily incoming, backlog and family paperwork, then check out my online program 'Making Your Paper Work' >>
All the storage boxes are from the Ikea Kasett range, which are nice and sturdy and can hold quite a lot. Ikea are always mixing up their range of paper storage boxes, so you can get different colours rather than just sticking with one, if you prefer a colourful look.
On the right side of the storage unit are 3 of these boxes - 'Special Cards', 'Photos', and my husband and my 'Memories and Keepsakes' box. I used washi tape to make the labels stand out. Our childhood Memory Boxes are currently kept in a storage cupboard as they didn't fit here - ideally one day they will all be stored in the one place.
On the left side of the work unit are my children's Memory Boxes and our filing box for receipts.
A quick peek inside each one.... Currently, the children's boxes mainly hold cards from when they were born, birthday cards, their health record books and some special books (art-work is kept in a different spot). The boxes are not overly organised, as it's really just a place for me to put all the keepsakes as they come in. As these build over the years, we'll have to do a bit of culling.
Our own 'special cards' box has all our engagement and wedding cards, cards to each other (full of romantic sentiments!), and special ones from family. I don't put all our birthday cards in here - because I don't think I'd ever go back and read through a box of birthday cards - but they do make the cut if they have a special heart-felt message inside. (Side note -- how cute is that little hand, just wanting to be involved in everything mama's doing!)
Finally, we have our own Memory Box. It is filled with a rather odd assortment of things, but obviously they all have meaning to us i.e. flowers that were on our wedding cake, a video of my husband sky-diving, CDs from the days we were both in bands, copies of our wedding DVD, 21st gifts etc.
BONUS: Looking to create more organisation with your current paperwork systems? Get the free workbook that will walk you through the step-by-step process of setting goals and priorities, by clicking on the button below!
I know that as our children get older and start to give us handmade gifts and cards that we will definitely want to hold onto them, so I am going to have to think about storage for the future as the boxes won't hold heaps. Hubby has promised to build me a new storage unit soon - he knows the way to my heart! - but for now these file boxes are working perfectly.
Here are some more ideas for storing memories from The Organised You's Pinterest page. I quite like the shadow boxes for preserving extra-special memories, and the travel boxes are a cute idea too.
