When you have children, you want to savor every precious thing about them. Their scent lingers in your nose after a bubble bath. That sweet laugh floods your mind when you lie down in bed at night You will want to remember every moment of their childhood for years to come, and what better way than to start setting aside mementos of their childhood. However, you cannot save every little trinket, so here are some things to consider as you set aside items from your little one’s childhood.

How to Know What to Keep of Your Kid’s Childhood

Keep What Will Store Well

There are many things that simply do not store well. Many items will fade, or deteriorate with time, even if they are stored in an airtight container. Definitely consider what the item is made of. Are you thinking about saving that macaroni art from your kiddo’s first day at school? Think again. It will be covered in bugs in just a matter of time, so instead, find another way to remember their first day. Maybe a photo book, including fun facts about your child’s first year of school.

Keep What Makes Sense

There is no need to think about this one, the answer is no. Everyone seems to keep a clipping of their baby’s first haircut, but in all honestly, what will you possibly do with it, other than store it in a memory book? You will have plenty of photos to remind you of their first hair color, there is no need to keep a lock of it, locked away. The same goes for teeth! Having old baby teeth lying around just adds to useless clutter. The tooth fairy can dispose of the teeth right after retrieving them from under the pillow.

Decide If It’s Sentimental

Your little one will draw hundreds and hundreds of pictures, but you cannot save them all. Only save the most sentimental ones. The ones that really capture your heart and that your child is most proud of. Keep in mind that you can always take a picture of your child’s artwork. This is a great way to store a lot of artwork, without physically keeping it.

Keep a Number in Mind

If you keep every single thing your child has ever made, you are going to run out of space soon enough. Keep a number in mind, when trying to decide what to keep of your kid’s childhood. Decide on keeping maybe ten items, instead of 30. At their graduation party, you’ll have a sensible number of items to show, instead of an overabundance.

Think Back to Your Childhood

When you become an adult and your parents showed you what they saved, what made you the most happy? Was it monotonous to go through all your old stuff? Keep a few toys of your child’s to pass on, but don’t keep every little thing. When you’re trying to decide what makes the most sense to keep, think back to what you loved having saved for your child to see.

Do you store things from your kid’s childhood? How did you decide what to keep?

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