I have a lot of stuff. I’m sure that you do, too. It seems to be a disease of our materialistic culture. I have items I have collected from trips, cards I have received, gifts given to me by family, drawings and stories from my children when they were young, and a multitude of other items that have some memory attached to them. And then there are the items from my mother, or my mother-in-law.

I can’t keep it all. But how do I decide what stays and what goes? Fortunately a museum studies course gave me a way to think about it.

Museums have a lot of stuff, too; they are called “the collection,” and they are the heart of the museum. But not every object in a museum is part of “the collection.” To become part of the collection an object must be accessioned. This means that it is catalogued, insured, and carefully displayed or stored. It is now a prized possession and the museum has a responsibility to care for and properly maintain it. If the museum wants to dispose of it, it must go through a deaccessioning process.

If an object does not fit within the mission of the museum, it is not accepted into the collection. If it is not valuable, unique, or rare it is not accepted into the collection. Not every object in a museum is part of the collection. For example, some objects on display in an historic house museum may be replicas of real pieces held by other museums or of common items that would have been in use in the time period. If they are damaged or no longer useful, it is not a problem for the museum to let them go. A museum only wants to be responsible for those items that are core to their being.

I need to adopt the mindset of a museum curator and think of my stuff as a future museum collection. I should only “accession” those items that are core to my being; that carry stories that need to be passed on from generation to generation. They have to be items that I am willing to care for and properly display or store. Tossing them into a Rubbermaid tote in the basement or attic does not count.

I also can’t be afraid of deaccessioning items. I remember a lecture given by a curator of a new historic house museum; she threw out hundreds of coat hangers that had been stored in the attic. How many hangers made in the early 1900s did the museum really need to tell their story? Clothes that were moldy or rotted went in the dumpster. They would have been valuable if they had been in good condition, but lack of care destroyed their worth. If I can’t care for an item properly, I might as well get rid of it now. Sitting in a Rubbermaid tote for years will not keep it in good condition.

So that’s going to be how I decide what to keep:
1. Does it tell a story that is core to our family and needs to be passed on?
2. Can I display or store it properly?

What about you? What are your guiding questions as to what to keep?