I need ideas on the best way to store momentos from my daughters childhood?

Question

I have twin girls and at the moment I am storing all their items from when they where babies in a medium size trunk well the trunk is full and we havent even made it to kindergarden yet plus I was thinking I need two seperate storage containers one for each child that way when they get older they can each have their own box of memories. any ideas on what kind of storage containers I should use? F.Y.I. we are a little cramped for space so anything to big or bulky will not work.

Answer 1

I have twin daughters too!! What a joy! You can scan any artwork they do to a CD!! If they paint/draw something that you particularly love, you can have it matted and framed as fine art. Our girls did some watercolors in 4th grade, I had them framed and they are still among my favorite things. For the other things, try placing the items in a space bag before storing them in a locker or chest. Letters from camp, mothers Day cards, etc, can be kept in a 3 ring binder in protected acid free sheets. Also, plastic boxes that seal are a convenient way to save special keepsakes and they stack.

Answer 2

If you are storing a lot of air, i.e. close, blankets, stuffed toys and items of that nature, I have an idea.

Order some of those Space Bags you see advertised on television infomercials. We found some at Big Lots. They seal up with your items in them, then a vacuum cleaner is used to evacuate most of the air from the bag. Those d### things can just about make a sleeping bag go away. They are water tight and bug proof so they can be stored in your swimming pool if you like. We have more clothes under our bed than I ever thought possible.

Even if this only stores part of the stuff, it should free up space in the trunk.

Sometimes smaller boxes work better, you can separate them and still have the earmarked storage you are looking for.

One more idea, can you dedicate a corner of a room? A nice floral sheet covers a lot of storage boxes, hiding them all from casual view. The sheet will/can grow with the storage.

OK sir. There's a couple of suggestions you are not now using. I can really recommend those Space Bags. I would never have believed how much air there is in stuff.

Hey good luck and hug the twins. All four of ours are singles, hey maybe I do have something to be thankful for. I can't imagine twins. Somebody in your house is working some body parts off. BTW, I hope this helps, storage is always a problem.

Absolute last thought. Avoid the urge to keep everything. It will literally run you out of house and home...

Answer 3

Sheila Rosalind Aria Tania Kaitlin Brianne Chanel Janelle Michele Natalie Charlotte Stella Kyra Zayda Kimberly Elena Madeline Madeleine Danielle Josephine

Answer 4

Wow. Sounds like me. Unfortunately I learned that you cannot save every single peice of paper that your child does, or writes their name on. My daughter is 7 and I have like 5 tubs full with school work, and pictures she's made, and it's cramping my lifestyle.
What you will need to do, is get about 10 different scrapbooks, at walmart for like 7.00 a peice. And pick out the best pictures and school work of your little ones and put them in there, with the rest, you're gonna have to let it go.
Each year buy about 7 of those books and fill it up with their best work.. It's much easier to store books than it is to store 8970943718903742342 peices of paper.

Answer 5

Do yourself a favor and listen to the scrapbook advice. Let the toys go to a Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. There are plenty of kids their age that need things like that. Decipher from your own memories of that age and determine the importance. You're running out of room and there's a reason for that... the girls are growing. Create (have your hubby do it) or add some shelves and keep the displayable stuff. Don't get rid of things in their presence. Out of site out of mind. Keep only a few special things, though.

Answer 6

Start making scrapbooks for each, and saving only a few very special items from each year- a favorite doll, a book, awards, that sort of thing.

If you end up filling a trunk every year, you'll wind up with 36 trunks before they graduate, and chances are, 90% of it is stuff that they won't want, or need.

Answer 7

You can get one of those Food Saver machines that vacuum packs everything for easy storage. I have one. Let me tell you, moths can eat through the plastic though. Go get some cedar mulch from a gardening center and put a little of it in the bag before you seal it. If you have enough space, build two cedar chests also called hope chests for each of your childs belongings. They will cherish the chest as a family heirloom forever and moths wont invade and eat their baby clothes

Answer 8

Decorate and put them in a shadowbox to hang on the walls of their rooms. Saves space... and it's really nice to be reminded of your daughter's growth and changes each day.