Ask:
We're having a garage sale this weekend and I'm going thru things to have on it. There are things that we haven't touched in YEARS, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them (or use them) because of the sentimental value of them. I have embroidered dish towels from dh's grandma that I won't use because it's going to be one of the last gifts like that that we get from her as she is getting old enough she won't be doing that for long. I have baptism bibs in the hutch that we haven't used since they're too pretty to use and are from my grandma......lots of things like that....anyone else? Anybody have any suggestions for getting over it....dh thinks I'm being a packrat, but he saves things that might be "antiques" or worth a lot because they're old..........ARGH!!
Answer:
I have to admit; the things you mentioned not wanting to get rid of - they would seem like keepers to me, too. As long as the "sentimental" pile isn't too high or too many of one thing, why not?
Answer:
I agree w/ desertmom, they'd be keepers for me as well.
You know what I found this weekend that I forgot I had and kind of laughed at myself over? A dishwashing scrubby thing my Gramma crocheted from nylon netting/tulle...I've never used it and probably won't, either, because it's the last thing she ever crocheted! I know it's sappy and sentimental, but oh, well, that's just how I am!
My Gramma saved a lot of old stuff like that (well, not dishwashing scrubbies, but stuff that was handmade by family!), and I used to love when she'd show me stuff her parents and grandparents and my Grampa's parents and grandparents made! The quilts, pillows, clothes, doilies, I even have an outfit that my Great Gramma made for my Grampa when he was about 6 months old and all his brothers wore it, too! Hopefully someday when I have a child I can put this outfit on them and take a picture then be able to tell them about it when they are older.
For me personally, when going thru and sorting and getting rid of stuff, I had to decide for myself what my limits were, what I felt was important to me, and I am willing to keep things like that because I know how much other stuff I have gotten rid of that has no value to me, sentimental or otherwise. I got rid of so many boxes of stuff, from high school (I'd saved everything...notes, ticket stubs from every movie and event I went to, just crazy stuff!), from college, the guys I dated b/f dh, stuff that I'd moved 3 times and never looked at or thought about in between, so I decided I just didn't need it anymore!
I have stuff neatly packed up and stored in our basement, so it's out of the way of our everyday living, and that's what matters to me.
Holy cow, sorry that got so long, I am windy today!
Answer:
Why yes it does. I am super bad but trying to get better. I've had to change my view of sentimental value to get better. For instance I have a table that was my grandpa's mom's. It was the table us kids always ate at during family dinners because we weren't allowed at the big table. But I also have her China so why have I kept a table I don't use? I will see if anyone in my family wants it, if not I'm getting rid of it.
I do however have every letter or card my dh sent me while in the army and blankets/quilts that my grandmother made. Will I get rid of them? Never. Just priorities I guess. So I would never part with the dishtowels if I was you, but maybe find a way to put them away or on display.
I will be putting together a box for the baby where I will keep very special things when he/she outgrows them. My mother didn't keep anything but the blankets my grandma made for me when I was little and my rocking horse because by the time I outgrew it, I was old enough to not let her get rid of it. (and its going in my baby's room). I think its important to keep some things but not everything.
I used to keep all the cards we got from family but now only keep certain ones that have a very special meaning. Like if they wrote something special in them. Not ones that are just signed.