You can take the name plates off of trophies and discard the bigger trophy.
I’ve seen this place advertised many places - and they have thousands of reviews for a 5 star rating.
https://www.projectrepat.com/products/project-repat-t-shirt-quilt
Does anyone have problems with their kids art projects, pictures, etc? I’ve actually did a big throwaway a few years back, up have a few large Manila folders of stuff. I guess the same rules apply? Do they give me joy to look at them? I feel so incredibly guilty throwing away those things. I have about 10. Efamic tiles with their names and drawings and dates. I know this is maudlin, but I think I would be wracked me pain if something happened to them and I threw this stuff away. Does anyone else ever think that?
Can you put it all in one plastic covered bin per child? You have to decide what your limitations are - both in what you keep, can store and what you toss. For me, one medium plastic bin per child is not to much to pack a childhood in. 5 bins each? That would be a problem.
Keep it if it brings you joy! But this is why sentimental items are the LAST category of things to discard.
I have several bins per kid and unless we move, no pressing need to lessen the number. I do understand your thinking and have had similar thoughts. If you have the space to keep things for your kids that are their creations, why not?
@conmama, re kids’ stuff. I never thought I’d feel sentimental about any of my own childhood work until I found out my dad had kept the very first story I’d ever written. I cherish that piece of paper! We moved quite a few times as a military family so not much was saved. Now, I have some of my kids’ essays stored in the “cloud” so don’t forget you can scan work and store it, too. I’ve kept only a few of their childhood art pieces.
If the quilt idea doesn’t work for you, you could try making other things from the items. T-shirts can be torn into strips and crocheted into bags. Jeans can be torn into strips and sewn onto backing to make carpets. (martha Stewart has some ideas for how to do this.) There are other sorts of crafts that might appeal to people.
While I like to keep things pared down, I insist on keeping all of my kids’ artwork. Even in tiny apartment, their work fits into a single container under a bed. The reason I do this is because some of it is excellent but kids go through a phase when they can’t appreciate the excellence of work they did as children. Once they grow through that stage, I will let them sort through it so that by then, hopefully, they have a better developed sense of what "sparks joy.’ Both of my kids were avid artists and still are. One hugely successful children’s book author found his ideas in his own art that his mother saved. Picasso said that he had to teach himself how to draw like a child again.
OTOH, other items, almost anything I can buy, is fair game to get rid of in a thoughtful way.
When we downsized, I only kept kids’ artwork, essays, school projects that brought joy (altho I wasn’t thinking of Marie Kondo at the time). The ones that were special to me, brought back good memories or that I thought my kids would like to have saved. I think I ended up with one box/child.
I’ve saved a few shirts you have two baby quilts made. Someday. That satisfies me.
I am saving a few shirts kiddo designed. The swim and track shirts are long gone (although kiddo still has her HS State Champs sweats 
). OMG - letterman jackets, anyone?! Mr. has one, too - issued by his employer for achieving a certain milestone. It is butt ugly, but it brings him great joy to look back at his good old days.
Last night I put on the Netflix show where Kondo is going to work with the empty nesters. My H sat down and watched for less that 5 minutes when he said the show was a waste of time and that he doesn’t need some lady on TV telling him what to get rid of. Crabby pants!
This morning when I came down to breakfast he got up and gave me a hug while saying “I find joy in you”. He then hands me an article from this morning’s local paper about Marie Kondo’s new Netflix show. It was taken from the New York times (author Penelope Green. I guess reading about it in the paper gave the concept some credibly in his mind…
Before he went up to shower, I opened up the overly packed kitchen towel drawer an told him I was going to Kondo it. (starting with kitchen towels was a great way to get the hang of her folding technique). H came back down ready to leave for work and I showed him the drawer. He was blown away (as was I) because you could see every item, AND about a 1/5 of the drawer was empty! I did struggle with the dish rags because of their size so I found a box to keep them contained.
He then set down his briefcase, walked over to the coat closet where he tried on a few and then selected three to go live somewhere else. I hope this same man returns at the end of the work day!!!
Breaking News! H, who watched MK with me recently, lined up all of his shoes on our bedroom floor. Those sad little soldiers looked so pitiful, standing in formation, one even missing its mate. Poof! 12 pairs of shoes, gone. All too tight, raggedy, or long out of style. He now owns 4 pairs of shoes that all fit. This is truly astonishing progress for him.
Also, after folding a dozen tshirts from D’s room, I sent her a picture and she picked 2 to keep, one to hand down to a cousin, and the rest to donate. So easy to tell what each item is with that folding method.
^^^How can you tell if you have 5 pink tshirts which is which? Do you fold with the logo/pic facing out? If so, how do you see that when they are upright in drawer?
Went through my clothes and purged a lot. And I can’t buy anymore gray sweaters 
As i was taking down our tree, which is not an elegant Christmas tree but one covered in ornaments that have memories, I diverted the silly ones we have gotten through the years. The sports team ones (MLB, NFL, etc) will be sent to my son when he has his first apartment next christmas, the work related ones and just silly ones will be donated. They’re all technically nice but no longer welcome on my tree.
I had a van full yesterday and it felt so great to get rid of it. No clothes, just stuff. I actually do this on a regular basis, but needed this extra help in doing so. I think I’ve gotten more out of other people’s comments than anything.
Would you buy this now?
Would you care if it perished?
And of course, does it bring you joy?
(I do think the show the couple of shows I’ve watched gave me the incentive to do another purge, but it’s not very good at explaining the “why” of her methods. I’m sure one needs to buy her book for that.
I do a big kitchen purge last year, buy another one today. I filled a laundry basket of stuff I just never use, of all,sorts of things. It feels good knowing everything in my cabinets and drawers are things I use.
I need to tackle the awful linen closet next. We have SO many blankets for various needs and occasions it’s ridiculous.
This should also be posted in the parental regret thread. I never taught my kids to purge and regret that. With 6,000 SF of living/storage space, we boxed and kept toys, etc. as they outgrew them. I didn’t realize, until we did our huge downsize a year ago, that my mother had done exactly that with me, even though we moved often.
I was an only child for 9 years and careful, so most of my childhood was in my attic. Going through my 55 years of “treasures” was incredibly emotional and difficult, especially given the circumstances of the sale and move.
I buy very little decorations and house stuff, but my genealogy, childhood things, and my kids’ things do bring me joy. I’m determined to kondo them further this spring. Genealogy is a tough one though…space consuming…I’m not spending the time to digitize when those methods outdate and I don’t think will be used.
At least I have the hang of clothes! I own fewer clothes and shoes than any woman I know. I probably kept more of my kids’ baby and toddler clothes (that quilt someday!) than I have in my closet.
@abasket - I can’t remember if this is her exact method but I lay T-shirts face down, fold in thirds longwise, folding in sleeves too, Then fold in half, then in thirds. For me, that puts the logo in the front of the little t-shirt “package”.
Here you go- for some reason she is folding the logo side in. I fold it so it shows. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CB7aLywa4PQ