Take A Picture It Will Last Longer

by Tanna Clark

in Organizing

Does this sound like you?

“I might wear it again.”

“But it reminds me of when we…..”

The Night We Met

I pulled this out of my closet tonight. This is the outfit I wore on my first date with Hubby. We’ve been married 5 years and I can say without a doubt I have not worn it since we were married. I know this because I got pregnant shortly thereafter and the skirt never quite looked as cute on me as it once did. I don’t have a problem with getting rid of stuff but this is one of those that had the sentimental factor and the “maybe I’ll fit into it again” reasoning all mixed together.

So I pulled the outfit out and took a picture. Then I packed it in the donate box. Done. It’s easy to attach an emotion with a thing but we eventually run out of room and have a bunch of stored STUFF we can’t enjoy.

Here’s your challenge… The next time you find yourself saying “I might” or “It reminds me of…” take a picture and write down your feelings attached to the item. Before you know it you will have a great pictorial journal (or a blog!) to remind you of special memories. The physical items can go on to someone that can use them and love them now. Works for me, what about you?

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Author: Tanna Clark (547 Articles)

Tanna is founder and "chief organizing officer" of Complete Organizing Solutions. As a professional organizer and mom of three Tanna is passionate about helping busy families find the organizing solutions they need to manage their homes efficiently. You can find her organizing throughout the Greater Nashville, Tennessee area.

{ 2 trackbacks }

I’m an Organizing Junkie » Organizing your clothes closet
April 3, 2009 at 12:45 am
Reduce Sentimental Clutter By Photographing Your Memories
February 24, 2010 at 10:31 am

{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Lori March 25, 2009 at 7:17 am

Great idea!!!

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2 Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect March 25, 2009 at 8:33 am

Your post made me laugh…at myself! I actually have the outfit I wore on my first date with my husband folded up and saved in my cedar chest. We’ve been married for almost 10 years…and I was only 15 when we started dating. To say that outfit will never fit again is QUITE the understatement! :)

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3 SoBella Creations March 25, 2009 at 8:55 am

I never keep clothes for just in case I lose weight. Then they are always looming over me.

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4 Amy March 25, 2009 at 9:40 am

Or you could cut it up and quilt it; I keep my stepdaughter’s old clothes for that reason. You can quilt sentimental clothes, too, and keep ‘em around forever! (well, as long as the fabric holds up).

I figure that quilting allows me to still be sentimental about stuff that I really should get rid of…haha.

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5 Lisa March 25, 2009 at 10:48 am

Fun idea! I like it. :)

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6 Kate March 25, 2009 at 12:30 pm

I like this idea. It would certainly save me some room in my closet… =)

~Kate
“Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?”
http://proverbs14-1.blogspot.com

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7 Tanna Clark March 25, 2009 at 2:34 pm

Amy,
Yes I was keeping all of my first son’s clothes to do that then I ended up having another boy so used the clothes instead then passed them on to a friend because they were still like new.
I do like the quilt idea though.

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8 Tanna Clark March 25, 2009 at 2:38 pm

Mary,
That is too funny! Yeah those clothes, not happening again! Oh, 15 I wouldn’t want to go back there anyways. But that is so sweet that you and your husband have been together that long.

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9 Louise March 25, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Cute outfit! No wonder that date went so well :-)

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10 Eva Wallace March 26, 2009 at 12:02 pm

Great idea! There are a lot more good ideas for scrapbooking than I thought…

:)

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11 Rebecca April 3, 2009 at 7:48 am

This is a great idea. Or, it would be if I could fit into all those “cute clothes.” Really, I just got rid of the shirt I was wearing when I got engaged when we moved this past January. It was freeing, but sad. Also when we moved I took pictures of anything I was sentimental about, including certificates from high school, gifts from friends, trophies, etc, and then got rid of them all. I love this idea!!

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12 Tanna Clark April 3, 2009 at 8:29 am

Rebecca, It is quite freeing to let go of the stuff, I wish I would have thought of this when I was younger it would make for great journaling prompts.I’m sure I’ve gotten rid of stuff that I would like to look back on now. Everything is so easy with digital cameras now it is a great solution instead of keep all of the excess.

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13 Nancy April 3, 2009 at 8:12 am

I have read this also to take pictures of the kiddos artwork esp their 3d projects so you have a log of them without having them. My DD is only 2 so I haven’t actually done this yet but it’s there in my mind when the time comes.

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14 Tanna Clark April 3, 2009 at 8:24 am

Nancy, I take pictures of my children’s artwork too. My oldest loved the idea. The younger one will have a harder time with letting go of the physical work. That will come with age.

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15 Joyce April 4, 2009 at 12:22 am

haha…I just did that today when I went through my closet. =p

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16 chaotic kitten April 11, 2009 at 4:41 am

Great idea, thanks for sharing it!

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