Too Sentimental to Declutter? Start Here.

February 27, 2025
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Decluttering experts share their best tips.

Kim Allen doesn’t like clutter. But when it comes to some of her most sentimental items, she finds it hard to let go.

Near the top of the list is a ceramic creature that her daughter made years ago. It has one eye, a lolling tongue and a crop of blue hair. She displays it in a prominent place near her bathroom sink because it always makes her smile.

But there are other keepsakes that don’t bring the same kind of joy — such as memorabilia and artwork handed down from her relatives — that are only taking up space, physically and emotionally.

“Hopefully I will be retiring at age 67,” said Ms. Allen, who is 52 and lives in Sherrill, N.Y. “Do I really want to deal with all of this excess stuff then? No, I want to be having fun with my friends and family, enjoying the life I worked so hard to build.”

And yet for a long time, Ms. Allen felt uneasy about discarding the family heirlooms.

Mr. Shuer’s treasures include items that his grandfather owned. The decorative mask and the taxidermied piranha are among Mr. Shuer’s favorites. “I grew up looking at them and they sparked my imagination,” he said.Tony Luong for The New York Times
Kim Allen is a descendant of the Oneida Community, a religious commune created during the mid-1800s that flourished for 30 years before eventually dissolving. Pressure to keep historical items within the family — like these silver-plated souvenir spoons — was strong, she said.Amrita Stuetzle for The New York Times
Ms. Allen donated her family’s historical treasures, which included these forceps, to the Oneida Community Mansion House museum.Amrita Stuetzle for The New York Times