The act of parting with treasured jewelry can sometimes carry with it a lot of emotional baggage. It’s almost like we’re not just saying goodbye to the actual piece itself but also to the memories we’ve made while wearing it. I think many of us put off cleaning out our jewelry box or drawer because dealing with all those decisions subtly raises questions about our past and, in some cases, who we were when we got a particular piece and why we felt the need to obtain it in the first place.
You’re attached to your jewelry not just because it’s pretty but also because of the roles it plays in helping you remember and connect with past experiences. Those types of memories are hard to give up, which is why parting with certain pieces can be so tough. Yet understanding why you’re attached to them can help in making decisions about which pieces to keep and which to let go of.
What makes it so hard to part with jewelry that holds sentimental value? We are reluctant to give up these trinkets because we fear that doing so will mean the memories attached to them will fade or disappear. Decluttering can be especially tough when it comes to items connected with important personal or family events. The process might require some support and lots of digestion but ends in increased peace of mind and clarity regarding what one wants to preserve, not just physically but emotionally as well.
It is very complicated to assess feelings attached to jewelry. However, you can break it down by focusing on the jewelry that really carries lots of personal importance and moving forward with those pieces first.
When choosing which keepsakes to preserve and pass on, consider the following factors: significance (events, milestones, people), wearability (how often you use or display the item), and condition (is it still in good shape?). Don’t keep something just because it’s in poor condition; on the other hand, don’t discard an item merely because it’s not in great shape but is still worn with love. Finally, pay attention to how each piece makes you feel when you look at it or hold it. If gazing at a memento doesn’t elicit a powerful emotional response, favoring either positive associations with the past or serves as a poignant portal to mourn what’s gone, or if an item seems totally foreign to your memories and hasn’t become meaningful over time it might be okay to let that piece go.
Make time for this task, and allocate specific hours to do it well. Categorize your jewelry, she says, so that similar items are grouped together. “When you’re looking at things that all fall into the same category, say rings or necklaces you see what makes one stand out from another.”
Use a memory box: Put undecided pieces in it and sometimes take them back out when you’re tempted to add more to your collection and ask yourself if their addition is truly justified. Don’t overdo it, that’s why we also put limits on how many items we have in the first place! Seek objectivity from someone whose opinion you trust and make sure they understand why you’re parting with a piece as well as why another might be worth keeping. Finally, document those memories even though what will essentially be a Facebook album of photos can feel like a way of not fully engaging with Sad Sack Sam Dickerson’s consciousness, not by seeing slides of said Facebook album while sipping lattes but by writing down the stories associated with key pieces.
To declutter your jewelry collection and pare it down to the most meaningful pieces, follow these criteria and tips.
It helps to have a better understanding of what you have and why it’s important. So, first off, group together those pieces that are similar (rings, necklaces, bracelets). Then sort the items within each group by how much sentimental value they hold. If there are only two or three truly unreplaceable items in your life, the Original 770 meme comes to mind! and they just happen to be grouped together in a catalog that serves as a reference, then the next time you reach for your phone during times of laydown necessity or underwater stress testing, rephrase the following text: Deciding what jewelry stays and goes gets much easier when all those pretty trinkets are organized and visually represented.
Invest in protection and display for your treasured jewels. Use lined jewelry boxes with dividers to keep metallic objects from touching and scratching one another, as well as to prevent items from getting tangled together. If you need additional storage space, use a drawer divider to organize contents within a shallow drawer.
Once items are safely contained in your protection and organization systems, you can admire them through the shadow box or acrylic organizer that constitutes part of the display solution duo. Finally, keep your most valuable pieces secure, either in a safe where they must be accessed by opening it or in a location (like behind a picture) where they cannot reasonably be without having the wall fall down on top of whoever dares to try for them.
Look at the sentimental jewelry you’ve kept and consider whether each item still holds the same meaning and emotion that made you hold on to it in the first place. Be honest with yourself; if something doesn’t have the same pull as it used to, is there a reason you’re really holding on to it? Simply putting such items away in a designated space can help enable this necessary thinning of your jewelry collection while maintaining a relatively easy path back to anything you might need or want to look at in the future.
As time goes on, your collection of meaningful jewelry may undergo a natural transformation. This is often the result of not just one, but many life events that people experience. An individual’s tastes in jewelry can and will evolve as well. Most importantly, memories that are tied to specific pieces of jewelry, serving as not only reminders but also time capsules, tend to stay with the owner for an extended period, if not forever. Periodic review of this type is important because it allows updates and adjustments to be made without disrupting what stays securely attached to the owner’s person and/or emotions connected thereto; it also keeps true innovators of meaningful hoop earrings from becoming last season’s news (again).
It’s rich in irony, I think, that the act of parting with “meaningless” jewelry might provide a sense of liberation, while organizing sentimental pieces can be a calming, reflective experience. One thought I have is that those events in your life that you associate with specific pieces of jewelry aren’t going away, they’re permanent and reason enough to keep the piece(s), even if they don’t sparkle or hold adequate cultural or monetary value.
