When Sentiment Becomes Clutter

As someone who has always valued being neat and organized, but who also has a great love for stuff, I know the struggles of deciding where to draw the line on clutter. I really admire minimalists, and I appreciate the look of their homes from afar, but personally, I could never do it. I have too much stuff that means too much to me to be shoved into a box somewhere where I'll never be able to look at it. So that leaves me figuring out how to display these items on tables, shelves, and desks, without crossing that fine line between decoration and clutter.

What is Worth Displaying?

Unless you live in a mansion, you can't display absolutely everything without your house definitely starting to look a little cluttered. So, how do you decide what to display, what to put away, and what to say goodbye to? You ask yourself these simple questions:

• Is this something I want to look at every day?
• Is this something I want everyone who comes over to see?
• Will it clash with the look of my house/this room?
• What emotions do I feel when I look at it?
  
• Is it something I would enjoy going back to look at every once in a while?
• Is this something I might want to show/give my children one day?
• Down the road, would I regret throwing it out?
  

If it's something you would like to look at on a day-to-day basis, want to share with others, and it won't look too outlandish in one of your rooms, then by all means, put it on display. Also take into account the emotions that it brings up. If has some sadness tied to it, then you might want to store it somewhere, so that it's not bringing down your mood every day. On the other hand, if it puts a smile on your face whenever you look at it, that would be a great thing to display in your home.

If you decide it's best not to display it, then you have to make the choice of whether or not to store it or throw it out. Emotions can also play a part in this decision. If you feel strong positive emotions when you look at the item, you'll probably want to keep it; while, if you don't feel anything, it is likely not worth taking up space. If it is something that you can see yourself pulling out of storage every once in a while and reminiscing over, or if it's something you would perhaps like to share with your children one day, it is definitely worth keeping somewhere safe. If you still don't know what to do, the final test is to put yourself in the shoes of yourself 1-5 years down the line and imagine that you threw it out. How do you feel? With that, you have your answer.

How to Display It

Now that you've decided what is definitely worth displaying, it's time to figure out how to display it while avoiding that cluttered look. It is all about balance.

Take the above image for example. There is a lot of stuff on these two shelves; however, it has a common theme and it is arranged in a way where everything compliments each other.

Adding space is another technique that will definitely reduce the risk of appearing cluttered. In the above picture, you can see that there are several small displays of items, and though the different displays don't necessarily go together, because they are separated by enough empty space, it gives it a nice, clean look.

Don't have enough surface area to spread things out? Invest in some small shelves like the ones above. That way you can fill up each shelf with your keepsakes, and then spread the shelves out along the wall to achieve the desired look.

Conclusion

Just because you have keepsakes that you want to have on display, doesn't mean your home is doomed to look cluttered. Not everyone is cut out to be a minimalist, and that's okay. Embrace your stuff, just don't let it rule over you.