Over the last few years, I have helped a ton of parents make decisions on what is worth saving for their kids. We’ve tackled clothes, artwork, mementos, cards, teeth, locks of hair, you name it…

This last year, I also realized that I may be more sentimental than I had originally thought as I made decisions about what to hold onto for each of my kids throughout their first year of life. Yes, that first lock of baby hair was absolutely kept! On the flip side though, the vast majority of things were not. They’ve been donated to other families who can put them to good use right now, rather than collecting dust in my basement for the next 25 years until I can pass them off to my kids. And for that, I’m feeling pretty darn good.

So what made the cut and how did I decide?

Well, for keepsakes, I think it is super important to set a physical boundary. If items don’t fit in the designated bin or container, then you need to think long and hard about if they are worth holding onto.

In my case, I chose a Bigso box for each babe that was kept on a shelf in their closet. If the box got too full, that meant it was time take a look through it and whittle it down. I chose to keep this keepsake box super accessible, so that I could store things away as we outgrew them or received them.

I chose to keep items meant a lot to us and things that were associated with a “first” of some sort. And here is what landed in the “keep” pile (for now):

The Onesie we made to share our pregnancy news with family
Footprints from the hospital on the day they were born
The hat they were given at the hospital
The bands that they wore (and I wore when I gave birth)
A wooden block highlighting their birth stats - a sweet gift from a friend
Newspaper from the day they were born
Their first piece of mail - A card from their Great Grandparents addressed to them
Birth Announcement, Our 2019 Christmas Card, Birthday Invite, Baptism Invite
Outfit from their newborn photo shoot
Outfit from their 4-month photo shoot along with a photo of them in said outfit
A Knit Crown from their 1/2 Year birthday celebration
1st Swimsuit…because they are just too cute and tiny
1st Pair of Shoes
Favorite Toy from Year 1 - in Henrik’s case it was a pair of socks from Lovevery that crinkled and had bells on them, for Luna, definitely her #Fancy teether
The 1st birthday cards they colored for each other
Henrik’s 1st Haircut Certificate along with a lock of his hair
Luna’s Lunalocks Halloween Wig - because nothing is cuter!!

Now that year one is a wrap, I will transfer the keepsake items to a larger storage bin in our basement for safe-keeping (again one per kid). The Bigso box referenced earlier is emptied and ready for year two!

A few of my favorite organizers for different items:

Lakeshore Learning Art Keepsake Organizer ($21.99) - This is an great organizer for larger units
ArtKive (Books start at $39, but use my link to save $20 on your first box) - Condense kids artwork into keepsake books with this easy mail order service
Home Sanctuary Memory Boxes (Boxes start at $55) - Created by an organizer duo in Kentucky, arranged with folders for each year of life.
Photo and Craft Organizer ($19.99) - If you still love printing photos, this organizer will help you keep things organized by year.
Clear Weathertight Totes - These are my FAVORITE bins for storage (especially if they are being housed in a garage or basement). They are air-tight and can withstand high and low temps.

As with anything, I think it is important to revisit items over time and see if they still hold the same sentimental value. You may find that you can part ways with some items in five years that you couldn’t even imagine doing so today.

When you hold onto items, you are also forcing someone else to make a decision about those items at some point in the future. I have had adult clients whose parents have passed along dozens of tubs filled with every outfit they wore as a child, every piece of artwork they ever created and so. much. more. Imagine how overwhelming that is. My goal is to help clients make those decisions early, so that their kids don’t have to down the road.

And I’m certainly not pushing anyone to toss or donate everything! I think saving a handful of items is so incredibly special, but it is more about the significance of the items versus the quantity of items saved.

Out of all these baby clothes, I just saved the two outfits on the far left that they wore in their newborn shoot. And there is not an ounce of mom-guilt associated with that decision.

The Baer Minimalist helps busy families create ORGANIZED + STYLIZED spaces throughout Indianapolis. Her next quarantine project is going through HER memory boxes that were passed down from her very organized mother - folders for each year, people!

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How in the Heck Do I Organize My...Kid's Mementos