Today I want to chat about a topic I don’t think I’ve ever seen covered on a blog: how to organize and simplify your own childhood memorabilia. There are plenty of resources out there for streamlining your kids’ stuff, but how about those of us still drowning in our own memories even while trying to organize memories for our kiddos? I’ve got some thoughts and a few things that have worked for me, and thought I’d share them today!

When I moved to North Carolina almost ten years ago (!), I had no idea how long I’d be here, or how long I’d be in my new apartment. I packed my UHaul with my clothes, furniture, some books, and some decor from my parents’ house, but left the vast majority of everything I didn’t use on a daily basis in my room at home. (Thank you, parents, for being okay with that!!)

Over the next few years, whenever I went home to visit, I would make a point to spend a little time sorting through what was left in my room: clothes, binders and notebooks from school, old toys, decor. Little by little, I got rid of what no longer had meaning to me and was better able to take inventory of what was left.

Likewise, every time my parents drove to North Carolina, they would bring a load of my stuff. With each new delivery, I’d sit down and sort through the pile, again keeping only what had meaning to me.

How did I decide what had meaning to me? I know a lot of people keep things because they think their kids might want to look at them someday, but that is not the driving force for me. Sure, there are some things I would love to share with my kiddos down the line if they express interest. For me, though, the reason I keep things is to remind myself of my story. “Finding a career” advice often encourages us to think back to our childhood passions, as they’re supposed to point us in the direction of our life’s purpose.

That is definitely true for me. One of the greatest passions of my life is writing, and I LOVE being reminded of how early this passion started for me and all the ways it grew throughout the years. Accordingly, one thing I’ll never give up is the picture book I wrote in second grade. The story was basically a rewrite of my favorite chapter book at the time (ha), but it was the first time I remember someone taking a special interest in this part of my identity: my teacher had the book laminated and bound, and she even sent it to the principal to read (who wrote a note in the back!).

As you all know, I am not very sentimental, but am HUGE on the power of stories. At their best, any mementos I keep remind me of who I am, what I’ve overcome, and where I’ve triumphed. They aren’t clutter; they bring me joy.

To summarize, here are my best tips if you’re staring down your own pile of stuff:

1. If possible, start early (before you have kids!). I’m so thankful I started early, because I had a LOT more free time on my hometown visits before June arrived, and a lot more time to sort through piles once back home!
2. If you aren’t sure, keep it. This might be controversial advice, and if you’re having a hard time letting go of anything at all, please disregard. But, if you’re making good progress and are just hung up on a few items, I would suggest you keep them. Purging can be a gradual process, and there’s usually no need to torture yourself to let something go if you’re not ready, even if you don’t think anyone would understand why you’re keeping the thing. You can always get rid of it in a few years if it’s no longer meaningful to you :)
3. Have a reason for what you keep. This is the necessary follow-up to tip number two! If you’re putting something in the “save” pile, try to articulate why you’re keeping it. It could be as simple as the thing brings you joy, but it shouldn’t be because you feel like you need to keep it or people would judge you if you let it go.
4. Don’t be afraid to purge gradually. For me, sorting through memorabilia isn’t a one-and-done thing. Whenever I have the itch to streamline or want to clear out a little more space, I go back through my things and cull a bit more. It usually ends up being every 2-4 years for a major look-through, with little trims off the edges here and there. For example, my Irish step dancing trophies hung on through several early rounds of purging. I kept all but the most significant trophies for a few more years, and then last year, I decided I was at peace about letting those go, too.
5. Take ownership. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If you’re lucky enough to have parents who have stored your stuff over the years, it’s so easy to just avoid the situation altogether. But that’s not fair to your parents, and it’s not fair to you, either! Get it into your own house so you’re forced to deal with it.

Once I slimmed down my entire collection to just the things I loved, I made a simple storage system. Currently, I have three big boxes and three little boxes in our guest room closet.

Big boxes:
— Middle school and younger: report cards, “books” I wrote, school pictures, newspaper clippings, dance memorabilia, a story journal my Dad and I used to pass back and forth, diaries…
— College: my acceptance letter, favorites papers I wrote, event programs, graduation cards, volumes of the literary journal I was published in…
— Random: this box could probably stand to be culled but includes a bunch of the mixed CDs John made me in our early years of dating, my four high school yearbooks, a scrapbook of our first year of dating, and the DVD of my final Irish dancing show, among other things

Little boxes:
— High school: commencement program, newspaper clippings, AP exam results (ha), my diploma, programs from events…
— Our wedding: one of each piece in our paper suite, my bouquet ribbon, particularly meaningful cards we were sent, our wedding film DVD, our wedding photo CD, our newspaper announcement…
— Our life together: LOTS of notes we’ve written each other over the years, notes from friends, souvenirs from our honeymoon, a small painting of our cats, a copy of each of our Christmas cards, my baby shower invitation…

You might want to keep more or less than I have – and that’s totally fine, as long as it aligns with what you value and you have the space for it! :)

Friends, I would love to hear: is this something you struggle with? Where are you in the process of getting your own childhood things in order? What system have you landed on?

Is it too late to talk about Easter? No? Good :) As I mentioned, our Easter weekend was full and very fun!

On Saturday morning, we gathered with friends for our neighborhood’s egg hunt. The report: it was over in about two minutes flat, and June was much more interested in opening and closing the eggs than anything that was inside them :)

It was not the world’s most challenging egg hunt, let the record show.

We had a bit of time before our next engagement even with a playground pit stop, so a detour for beignets down the road from our house – a favorite weekend indulgence – was in order. Then it was on to our next destination – a classmate’s third birthday party! This was really our first experience with a birthday party geared toward kids, and June enjoyed herself IMMENSELY.

The party was held at a local farm, and June got to pull weeds for chickens, feed the weeds to the chickens, pet and hold baby chicks and rabbits, collect eggs, and ride a pony! The pony ride was undoubtedly the highlight of the day. Even though June kept saying she wanted to ride after we introduced the idea to her, we weren’t sure she’d follow through — but she did, and grinned like a maniac the whole time! As someone who grew up infatuated by horses on my aunt’s horse farm, this was obviously delightful to me :)

My family has quite the farm legacy (my aunt’s farm, the one my Dad grew up on, is the oldest continually-working family-owned farm in Connecticut), and though it’s detached from my everyday life, it looms large in my personal narrative and identity. Not to get too philosophical, but this felt like the tiniest beginning of including June in that legacy, too!

After dinner and games with neighborhood friends (the luxury of walking to our friends’ houses has not worn off!!), I packed up June’s Easter basket before turning in for the night. It was really fun to put together, and I think she was even more excited by it than she was by Christmas morning!

We ended up including a Melissa & Doug wooden school bus (which I got at a consignment sale for $1!), a new bathing suit, lemon pajamas, a sheet of stickers, a pair of sandals, two stuffed bunnies already in her tribe, and the biggest hit of the day: an elephant watering can! (We bought ours from a local nursery, but it’s similar to this.)

We ate Pillsbury cinnamon rolls before church, which we attended at Duke Chapel. The music was incredible, the cherry trees were blooming, and the day delighted us by turning sunny and warm. It felt like the right weather to celebrate the risen Lord!

Cannot. Handle. John says this is her high school portrait sixteen years too early.

When your parents have the nerve to ask a stranger to take your picture :)

While June napped in the afternoon, John and I planted our back bed – various lettuces, some herbs, and tomatoes. I can’t remember if I mentioned this already, but we had to replace our bed this year, and went with this thick cedar one from Etsy. Two thumbs up! We then had an early potluck dinner at our street block party, which left us plenty of time for a walk down to the creek before bedtime. That photo on the right pretty much sums up my hopes and dreams for childhood – endless hours of poking a stick in the water :)

I think we checked off about four things on our spring fun list last weekend alone! Hope y’all have been able to get outside in the warmer weather, too!

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Happy Easter, friends! We had a wonderful, very full weekend (which I hope to tell you more about later this week!). I hope yours was joyful, too!

I was actually a bit surprised to see how many of my March goals I made progress on, because it felt like one of those months where things on my list kept getting pushed to the back burner. But progress was made, and perhaps the best piece was that in doing the three-month refresh in my PowerSheets, I was able to articulate goals for the next quarter or so — really, the four months left before baby number two arrives. I’m taking these months as a chunk and setting goals just for this season. They’re pretty simple and very concrete, and I’m excited about them. I’m sure I will share more soon, but in the meantime, they’re reflected in my goals for April, below!

Overall, though, I’m keeping things simple to focus on all the fun there is to be had this spring :)

What I read in March:
— Last Child in the Woods: This was a recommendation from MacKenzie. It was a bit of a softball for me, since the premise (kids spending time outdoors) is already something I’m passionate about, but it was interesting to read a more research-based approach and a welcome reinvigoration of my passion as we move into the warmer months!
— Expecting Better: My favorite pregnancy book recommendation. Re-read to get into the second trimester spirit! :)
— The Fringe Hours: This was a quick read, but I enjoyed it! Jessica and I are kindred spirits: we both think people should stop saying they’re busy, we like calendars with lots of white space, and we don’t feel guilty about doing things we love. If you like EFM but struggle with these things, you will probably like her book. More about a takeaway from this book soon!

Revisiting my goals for March:
Make our “areas to be purged” list (Not only did I do this, but I checked about half of them off! Major accomplishment!)
Ruthlessly edit the loft ruthlessly (Progress made!)
Fill out the two-year-old section of June’s baby book
Repair the raised bed in our backyard (Done! And veggies are planted in it!)
Plant out the little lawn strips beside the road in front of our house (Halfway done!)
Inquire with four designers/services about e-design (Inquired with one so far!)
Sort and better organize baby clothes (Done!)
Book Asheville accommodations for our fall trip (Done! Excited!)
Gather and cull all loose printed photos and sort them into new storage boxes
Organize and cull existing photo albums
Host a fun and low-stress birthday dinner and game night for friends (Done!)
Post a second annual survey on EFM! (Done!)

April goals:
— Complete the purging of the remaining areas on our downstairs list
— Clean out and organize the blue room closet
— Fill out the two-year-old section of June’s baby book
— Start a wish list for baby number two
— Inquire with three more designers/services about e-design
— Gather and cull all loose printed photos and sort them into new storage boxes
— Organize and cull existing photo albums

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I’ve mentioned a few times how excited I am for spring this year. Like, really excited. It’s finally spring, but now I need it to hurry up and feel like spring! We’ve got the longer days… now we just need the warmer temps.

I make seasonal fun lists often, but I haven’t posted a spring version since 2012! (!) Here’s my updated list for this year:

Palm Sunday at Duke Chapel! Very loud hosannas!

— Dig in the dirt at our church’s community garden
— Hunt for eggs with neighborhood friends
— Pick strawberries
— Pay for the person behind us in line (our Easter Saturday tradition!)
— Play at the Museum of Life & Science
— Go to a Bulls game
— Roast s’mores in our fire pit
— Cinnamon rolls on Easter Sunday
— Visit the WRAL Azalea Garden
— Pack a picnic and eat lunch outside
— Get ice cream at Maple View
— Poke around in our neighborhood creek
— Pick blueberries
— Fly a kite (I think June will think this is SO HILARIOUS.)
— Walk downtown for beignets
— Lemonade at the Honeysuckle Tea House
— Celebrate Memorial Day
— Camp with friends
— Wade at Fews Ford
— Plant our veggie garden
— Eat dinner in our backyard (as often as possible!)
— Bring a spring favorite to our block party

Whew! The trick for turning these lists into actual memorable experiences instead of things that just sound fun on a blog? I print them out and post them on our refrigerator! That way, they’re in front of me every day, and it’s easy to make time for them. I will try to post a photo of my printed-out list on Instagram Stories later today, so stay tuned! :)

I would love to hear: what’s on your spring fun list?