Organizing and Displaying Memorabilia

Ah, memories. We collect things from our travels, our past lives and other special moments.

What do you do to honor these special moments? If you love it, it should be honored and respected.

Frame it.

Use a shadowbox or have it framed at a shop. One of my friends has a grocery list her grandmother wrote in a small frame in her kitchen.

I prefer making my own shadowboxes. I use fabric or scrapbook paper to line the back and then either pin things to the back, glue them or use Velcro, depending on what it is. I made one with my Barbie and Barbie-like dolls. I also like this Pinterest idea of using a drawer as a shadowbox.

I saw this Pinterest project where you decoupage photos on a wooden letter. You could do this on pretty much anything. Another Pinterest idea is simply decoupaging photos on a foam board.

Quilt it.

Back in the day, people used leftover fabric to make quilts. One of the old quilts my mother has from her childhood features leftover fabric from her own mother’s sewing projects. Mom, who loves to sew, can point to individual squares and say which one of her sisters had a dress out of that particular material.

Nowadays, people can use them to create a new way to honor old clothes. My friend Barbara makes rag quilts out of children’s clothing for her Etsy customers. A new client just asked her to make a quilt out of her husband’s work uniforms now that he’s retiring.

I’m planning to have a T-shirt quilt made from some special T-shirts of my youth. Another friend, who has a vast collection of rock concert T-shirts, had a quilt made. Or should I say had a rockin’ quilt made.

Display it.

Having treasures hidden away in dusty boxes is not a great way to honor the things you love. The traditional display on a shelf is always an option, but shelves can only hold so much. Plus there is so much a person can dust!

Long before becoming an organizer, I saw an interview actor Dennis Franz and his wife did on a decorating show. They showed video of their home and they had small collections on a few shelves. Dennis Franz said they liked to collect until the shelf was full, and then they stopped. I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I have a collection of salt and pepper shakers, and I have a curio cabinet in my home where I display them. I like shakers that are fun and whimsical, and I just don’t buy any old pair. They have to speak to me – like the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson set I found at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London.

Larger items can be used as bookends or wall art. You can really be creative in creating displays of your treasures.

If you love it, display it, quilt it or frame it. Honor your treasures.