Sentimental items I'm taking with me into 2025
How to approach sentimental items as a minimalist is such a personal matter. This entry is in no way meant to be a benchmark for my fellow humans.
I have never been someone who needs to hold on to physical objects to be reminded of persons and moments. Some fellow humans think that it means I'm not a sentimental human being, and very often I thought that they might be right. After contemplating it further, I realised that there is such a great diversity of ways to be sentimental. For example, I treasure some pieces of advice that my mother (she died when I was 17), my grandmother and other family members gave me, and various things that I learned from them. For example, both my mother and grandmother nurtured, and invested in, female friendships. I always found it inspiring. My stepfather always emphasised the importance of the non-material and of investing one's time and energy into something you genuinely love (this liberated me from trying to get good grades at the university for its own sake).
To me, minimalism and even extreme minimalism doesn't mean having no sentimental items at all. Over time, as I was figuring out my approach to sentimental items, I came to the realisation that I can simply keep items for a while, and that it doesn't have to be forever. I feel no such obligation. It would certainly feel like a burden. Some items I keep for days, others for weeks or months. Yet others even for several years.
Into 2025, I am taking three sentimental items with me:
(1) A printout from an early scan (10 weeks and 1 day). Usually they don't do such early scans here in Denmark, but I had three done because I was very ill. Seeing the baby's heartbeat was wonderful. I might not keep this printout forever (I can take a picture of it).
(2) A stone from Bornholm that I found on a beach. I had more stones but gave most of them back to Nature. I often take this stone with me when I go for a walk and pick it up when I feel stressed. Everyone who lives with sensory processing sensitivity has their own strategies of coping with this condition. For me, carrying a small stone in my pocket or a bag works well.
(3) My engagement ring. I wear it very rarely. I don't wear (or own) jewellery apart from this ring. After my mother died, I was given some of her jewellery by my stepfather and grandmother, but I gave them away. I realised that those items reminded me of her death rather than life.