Earlier this week I went to an Ugly Sweater Party and since the party was in February, I didn’t want to wear my reindeer vest that I would typically wear to one of these parties.  I went searching through my “Keepsake” box for an sweater from the 80’s!  I am a bit shocked at how well it fit because I am not even close to the same size I was in 7th grade!

This got me thinking about “should I really be keeping these keepsakes”?  The dictionary describes a keepsake as anything kept, or given to be kept, as a token of friendship or affection; remembrance.

My collection of 80’s sweaters (I have 3) are not really keepsakes because they don’t really bring back memories from those times but are great for certain parties so that I don’t have to go searching in the thrift store.  My parents are planning to downsize in the near future and it seems that every time I visit them or they visit us, I gain another tub of keepsakes.  Do I really need 3 tubs of stuffed animals, notebooks and video tapes?  Today, I condensed 3 tubs to 1 tub (with room to spare). I could also get rid of more but I figure if I am going to keep 1 tube, I should keep more than 2 books in it.

The items that I will be donating, still bring back memories but I can get the same feeling from a picture and I don’t need to keep the Winnie the Pooh I bought while working at Disney World or the Braniff bag from my Uncle Ray who used to be a pilot.  Here are some tips on taking photos of your keepsakes!

• Grab a plain black sheet (or at least a solid color).  I actually have a black and a white twin flat sheet that I purchase for under $5 each for taking pictures of items
• Find a location shot location.  I really like using a bed because you can place the sheets covering the pillows and the bed so that the sheet is behind an below the item.
• Test different kinds of light.  Natural Light from a window, no over head light, with flash or without.

I am not saying purge all your keepsakes, just think about if they are really worth keeping!

• Will the memory change if I get rid of the item and just keep a picture?
• Could this item find a better home?  For example, the little Braniff bag is going to my Uncle Ray’s granddaughter Emma.  (or maybe I should check eBay since Braniff went out of business in 1982)

2020 Update

I did a Zoom Virtual Mastermind earlier year and one day had a 1980’s theme. I dug out my New Kids on the Block t-shirt from the first time I saw them in concert and I recreated my bedroom walls using the scanned magazine pages for my Zoom background.