It’s sad to see memorabilia stuffed under beds and in the back of cupboards when I work with clients. Much of the time the client plans to do something with the items “one day”, but their plans are grand and time consuming and hence never get started. Here are a number of easy suggestions to tackle in an afternoon to display your keepsakes.
Let it go
Just because you picked it up in Italy, or France or the Melbourne Market, it doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever. Make conscious choices about what you surround yourself with and curate your collection as a snapshot of your special memories. Read “How to: Letting go of keepsakes” for additional techniques for letting go of items.
Donate
Make a call to your local aged care facilities or primary schools to ask if they would like your travel items, postcards or brochures to display boards/discussion or project focus for “Places I’ve Been” or “Places I’d Like to Go To” (Thanks – Diane via Facebook for this suggestion). Check out a comprehensive list of donation options for items including books, clothes and furniture.
Decopage
Cover storage boxes with special memories. One of the Space and Time followers said “I did this as a kid, using my birthday cards, and I still have my old Barbie doll and clothes stored in the same box. You might need to cut some up to get a pleasing montage, but it’s an idea that worked for me.”
Frame
I have seen many, many, many beautiful calendars sitting in boxes around Melbourne, with beautiful images with the intention to do “something with it one day”.
Frame the actual item in an easily changed frame as above. Or take a photo, scale it smaller and turn it into a poster of a montage of pieces of your memorabilia.
Digitise
Take a photo or scan the item and then set the images as a screen saver on your computer or smart TV. Add photos to the montage to complete the project.
Coffee table books
Websites such as Snapfish, Vistaprint or Momento offer easy to use apps to create coffee table books from photos.
Display case
Once upon a time we would display our special items in a “china cabinet”. Today there are many variations of display cabinet including these fabulous, inexpensive, acrylic display cases from Muji
Postcard bunting
Pick up 1 or 2 (or 3) postcard / photo bunting kit from Kmart, pop in your favourite photos and string them up around the room.
Need more memorabilia display ideas?
There are a million ways to display your memorabilia. Check out Pinterest if you need more ideas… however… don’t get too carried away finding the perfect look. Choose something, do it this weekend and enjoy for years to come.
Have a look here for more family heirloom display ideas.
You may also get some ideas from this kids artwork display board here.
What’s next
Try out one of these project this weekend so you can get your memorabilia out from under the bed and out on display
Need help?
Got too much stuff and not sure what to do with it all? I’d love to work with you to curate your memorabilia. See more about Space and Time services here, or take the Space and Time Declutter Your Life Online Program for tips to get you on your decluttering journey.