What baby/child stuff do you keep for your children?

Tea-and-Cake_3

I have been decluttering big style this year and I am worried I might be getting rid of too much stuff that my children would like to see in the future. Eg. first shoes and baby clothes have all been sold. I have only kept the outfit they wore home from the hospital, I have kept their wrist and ankle bands and we have loads of photos. Do you keep their first tooth/first haircut/first scribble on a piece of paper etc or very little?

building_with_lego

I've got their first shoes, a favourite tiny outfit, all the congratulatory cards, the cord ties I'd made for them, first teeth and will keep at least one favourite book each.

With regard to artwork, I am ruthless at keeping it- it has to be really good to make it into my "keep" folder. I have seen this idea on Pinterest though so will do this at some stage:




My parents have a drawer full of things from when I was born- one of each newspaper, all the cards, tiny romper suit, hair, coins etc. It's interesting but seems a little ott to me .

Mrs_Imp

I'm keeping first shoes, hospital bands, cards, artwork etc. I'm also hoping to keep some of my favourite clothes to cut up and turn in to a blanket.

My mum and I recently went through a box of artwork that I did. It brought back some lovely memories.

Buttonmoons

I have a little box of what I've kept - from the top of my head it's got her first pair of walking shoes, one of her babygros, things from the hospital, scan photos etc, I have managed to keep most of her baby teeth, except for the 2 she knocked out and lost. Have got her doodles and whatnot in folders, need to sort through those.

an9i77

I kept the ankle tags and cards from when they were born in a photo album with their first photos. Then their first babygro and receiving blanket from hospital too. Everything else is given away or ebayed>

balletshoes

I don't keep stuff as rule, but I have kept my DDs hospital bands, her scan photos, the tape measure used to measure her head and height at birth, and her expired passports (she's on passport number 3 now).

I have a box file thats hers, it has some of her assessment reports from nursery, all of her school reports, and any achievement certificates. It also has a few cards and notes written to her from special friends of hers through the years.

I have kept a carrier bag of my favourite baby/toddler outfits of hers. Every year when she brought her artwork home from school we'd be pretty ruthless with what she wanted to keep, and what could be thrown away. There are still a fair few bits that really need to go now, so I think we need to go through those again.

I haven't kept teeth, curls or shoes.

Mrs_Imp

Balletshoes - it might be worth your while scanning the hospital scans in to the computer, as some of them can degrade over time.

74jax

I don't think I have anything from when my DD was little. I don't like clutter etc and so clear out every few weeks, I used to have something on the fridge - a drawing or whatever - but would replace and the one that was on I would put in the bin.

My OH thinks I'm constantly throwing stuff out and when we were cleaning our parent's house, by brother called me brutle as I was throwing loads of stuff away.

My friend the other week was really pleased she found a letter from her Gran that had been written about 40 years ago, and when i went round I asked where it was and she said 'back in the loft'. you see I don't get that, why not print a photo of her gran and scan on top the letter and put it out so you can see it. I lvoe photos and we have photos all over the house, but I like sentimental stuff to be out, not tucked away.

jackomdj

I haven't done it yet, but I am planning on scanning some of my children's art and making it into little books, by using the photo companies when they have their special offers on.

mucklebones

I was quite sentimental for the first couple of years, but when I looked at the stuff I was hording I asked myself why?

Would I have been interested if my Mum kept all this stuff about me, not in the slightest lol.

I put her paintings/drawings up and replace them when I get a new one from school.

Apart from that the stuff I was hording I hope came in very useful for someone else as I donated all her stuff to charity shops. I felt better knowing it was going to be used again by another child who needed it rather than have it sitting in boxes doing nothing.

I kept scan photos and hospital bands. But that is all.