Help with decluttering emotional items

[ItsMyIssue]

I’ve got an absolutely ridiculous huge box of birthday/anniversary /Christmas etc. cards that I’ve kept over the years. I know I need to stop saving them and the ones I have kept need to go, but I’m struggling. It’s taking up a really big space. My Grandmother kept every card both my mum and myself sent her, and after she died my mum had to get rid of them and she was wracked with guilt when grieving. I don’t want my children to have this issue. I’ve also got another box the same size of childhood drawings, certificates, swimming badges, school play tickets etc. which also needs to be dealt with. The children can’t even remember doing half the things in there.
Any advice of how I deal with it?

Hello there, I am a minimalist and I have solved this issue for me :D
Take your phone and take pictures of EVERY SINGLE item you want to throw away.

If the items are cards, take the picture from the front and then the inside, and follow that pattern so you know ALWAYS that the cover is first and then the message inside in your photos.

Then if you have a computer: make a special folder for birthday cards, another folder for anniversary cards, another folder for Christmas cards, another folder for children's drawings over the years and there you go! Now you have them all with you forever in digital form and you can declutter.
Also, you can go and check them any time you want

Perfect advice from @SierraHy

I solved a photo issue the same way. I had about 15 shoeboxes of photos and scanned the lot, and threw the hard copies away. It's easy to find my pictures now and send them to people. You can do the same with your cards etc.

I am also on a minimalist quest

Taking photos was going to be my advice too. Such a good idea.

Keep a couple of times if you must, like tactile things you need to touch like a furry toy or a scarf that smells of mum etc, but photograph the rest and file.

Keep copies on a stick just in case something horrible goes wrong with your computer. I’d prob keep copies on two sticks but I’m a bib and braces type person!

Things not times.

I'm going against the grain and say you don't need photos. I don't think it helps to get into digital hoarding, the secret is letting go of things.

My suggestion would be to save the best of the collection, so one beautiful card from each person, the one with the nicest message.

For the kid's stuff, again save one of each type and find a way to keep them nicely so you have a small and enjoyable memory box. For their drawings I would probably keep half a dozen.

Then let the rest go - I would burn the unwanted ones and have a drink to wish the memories on their way. If this frightens you, start by getting rid of just a couple and see if it stresses you out. Personally I find letting go very liberating, of course I have some pictures but we keep only a few and the ones we keep are beautiful.

I have 3 boxes of stuff one for each child, Each includes paintings, letters, school clothing, medals, etc etc! I'm going to hand them over to them. They won't refuse as they love looking through them every few years and I'll have my wardrobe space back!

Thanks for all your comments. I’ve been having a really good think about it over the last few days. I like the idea of photos but I think it will be time consuming. I spoke to my Mum about it earlier and she suggested I just threw them away, which shocked me. She suggested they wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else, because they’re my memories. I can see her point. I have a box for each child already and I think I need to streamline these and add a few bits from the huge family box. It’s the handwriting of the loves ones I have lost that I treasure. I think I’ll keep a few and the others will have to go.

I came on to say phone them but I see @SierraHy has got there ahead of me

Look.up Swedish death cleaning. It's a thing

You could make a photo book for each child - one photo/page of all swimming badges, one of all school play tickets, a mosaic page of certificates, the odd page with particularly special art work.

Cards etc, perhaps keep really special cards from really special people - 18 and 22 birthday cards from parents and bff, engagement and wedding cards from parents, MOH etc., anything with really lovely, special words.

I'm very unsentimental and have hardly any 'life souvenirs' - the ones I do have are very special, but if someone wants to chuck 'em out after I die, that's OK.

Oh, and I remember reading a blog post by a woman who's mother had been seriously ill. She and a friend had a pact to deal with the'stuff' after their parent's deaths. They would give each other the encouragement and permission to set fire to the lot, with no guilt or angst.