Letting Go of Sentimental Items

/ mattdavella
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In this video I talk about our relationship with things - specifically the things that we have a deep emotional connection with. How can we let go of our sentimental items?
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Thanks for watching! Go hit the gym :)

[@mattdavella]

Seriously you all need to stop calling me The Bad Boy of Minimalism. It's really harming my clean reputation. Please do not use the hashtag #badboyofminimalism. Thank you.

[@nelsonbueno6162]

Of course. I'll never use #badboyofminimalism hashtag.

[@mattdavella]

Nelson you son of a bitch.

[@kelseyfinlayson9498]

That just made me want to use it

[@stefansiegrist94]

so it's #bbom then?

[@Adilboukind]

I prefer your vision than Joshua's one

[@kelseyfinlayson9498]

I’ll be honest, I jumped

[@imjustwolf]

I jumped on the first thing, even though I KNEW he was about to drop it. I guess the shock factor can still happen even when you can tell something is about to happen.

[@fai5734]

Me too!

[@DanielH-po4ur]

hahahah same

[@sarahohyeah6096]

Sameeee

[@Nickelist]

Why you made me jump Mat??

[@AliMuhammadAli]

Before you drop it, I said to my self: "he should drop it as a joke.." and you did :)

[@DavidHernandez-us2hd]

No you didn't.

[@samuelrodriguez6684]

I thought he was gonna say at last:"and I'm throwing it away"

[@imenimanos5704]

Ali Muhammad Ali Since u mentionmed Matt in your video I became a follower 😊

[@meriemmeriem7649]

I'm fun of your channel

[@Beth1300]

Lol I knew he was going to drop it too, yet it still made me laugh. :) It's nice that every video has humour in it.

[@latriceyoungblood3620]

Dude that intro 😳😁

[@nomipyar]

I know! My heart dropped. I was so sad.

[@kanyeblessed6558]

MY STOMACH LITERALLY DROPPED hahahahaha

[@housera229]

Unrelated but... does your t-shirt match your eyes color? omg

[@princessthyemis]

oh my GOSH you're right!! They match exactly!

[@renameagain5808]

It looks fab

[@theakshayb]

I once had this Matt D'Avella statue. So glad he's on KZbin and I see him when he uploads. Maybe I don't have to keep the statue anymore

[@TravisL303]

Akshay Balaji take a picture of it.

[@omz145]

Travis Lindsey you can’t comment pictures???

[@TimFromWales]

I took a screenshot rather than liking the video Matt

[@GeorginasJourney]

TimFromWales 😂

[@evanthecameraman]

Now that's funny!

[@naomiquinlivan905]

😂😂

[@Kuba-ih7tx]

h a h a

[@juliarocha7908]

Omg he made it to your gallery????

[@devinnavarro4642]

"Finally I can let go of this thing that's just been hanging around my house and cluttering it up." *takes picture of girlfriend*

[@SimpleHappyZen]

That bowl is way too large for cereal 😂🌿✌

[@SimpleHappyZen]

Hey!! So nice to see you here 😄🌿 And you might be right about that hihi. I actually also love BIG mugs for my tea 🍵

[@COJ.Island]

😎☕☕☕

[@teardropcity]

What’s the most minimalist cereal?

[@ZoeKira18]

No bowl is too large for cereal.

[@ablueslenz]

I gave Matt cool points because of that cereal bowl. Growing up, we believed you had to have at least three servings of cereal during one sitting, or your growth would be stunted! Mixing bowls were golden. 🤣#FruitLoops

[@jenniferadams4722]

I don't know if someone mentioned this but there was a spongebob episode that did what you suggest. Spongebob had a bunch of junk stored in his home and decided to take pictures of all of it then ended up with a bunch of pictures all throughout his home. ☺ thought i share that

[@lukealiciouss]

That vase was way too modern to be from 3 generations ago lol

[@aiya3130]

Grandma was a time traveler! ^^

[@vivianblack2951]

The Modern movement started at the beginning of the 19th Century. I remember people had that style of vase in the 50's and 60's. Modern and Contemporary are two different concepts.

[@jmgnovaes]

I used to have three sentimental items from my grandfather: an old car from the 80s, one grey cardigan and a pair of classes. I was very much attached to those things, especially the car. And I feel it was an unhealthy attachment, manly because I didn't use that car and it was just rotting in the front yard. When my mother told me she was selling the car, I was really angry at her. "How can she sell it? It's important to me and one day I will restore it!", I used to think. But then I realised something: that car would become too much of a burden to me if I decided to keep it and it was not going to be a good memory. After discovering minimalism, I could finally let go of it. The cardigan was a little easier to let go, because I had already learned that lesson with the car. I forgot it outside one day and my dog tore the shit out of it. I wasn't pissed or angry, just a little sad. It was a fine piece of clothing and I liked to wear it. And what happened to the glasses, you ask? Nothing. I'm still wearing them every single day. I don't want them to break, of course, I want to wear them forever. But I know that one day they might break, as every material thing does, and if that happens, I will be grateful to have been able worn them for so long. Thanks for your insights, Matt! Keep up the good work.

[@Beth1300]

Reading about your glasses made me think about a camera my grandfather gave me, which I've been using for years. It's at the point where it's developing glitches and it also weighs too much for me (I have M.E.) but I'm very grateful for the years of use I've gotten from it. Using it made me feel close to him.

[@pedroeldiablo811]

i like how that comment is structured. We can see your evolution through the 3 items, your reaction to when you lost or will lose them (anger, then a bit of sadness, and finally gratefulness)

[@Burn3r10]

The beauty of the glasses and cardigan? You already have pictures of them in all the photos of you wearing them

[@corsoncheung4636]

the taking photo trick helped me so much when I moved last year. I was able to throw away so many documents and papers that i'll probably never look at again and definitely never need

[@LindsayCatherine]

This might be overboard-but I’ve started recognizing the things (sometimes literal trash) that if kept for too long can rack up sentimental value based SOLEY on the fact that I’ve kept it for this long! Now I recognize the things that could rack up empty sentimental value if I keep it too long (coffee sleeves, little pamphlets...a gah-damn pencil from high school??) and get rid of them before they attach 😂

[@jimdim1010]

Your eyes are a very interteresting shade of blue I never saw before. I didnt notice that with your glasses.

[@rcsfjo207]

They are lenses

[@gamergrill9629]

@@rcsfjo207 Are they? Interesting. Is it like contact lenses or something?

[@rcsfjo207]

@@gamergrill9629 As far as I know

[@rcsfjo207]

@@gamergrill9629 As far as I know, yes he uses them

[@jasonnowwhat5041]

Last 2 videos have a humorous what have you that I’m really digging!

[@Beth1300]

Sentimental things are what I really struggle with, mostly items given to me by three specific people; I still have regret about the items from those people that I've given away already, so I need to work out how to change this. I don't find taking pictures of them helps unfortunately.

[@snowleopard7952]

This is great advice. I’m taking photos of all my kid’s stuff and then donating it to Goodwill! I have all the memories stored on my laptop without the physical, material burden. After all, It’s the memory that matters, not the actual physical thing. I made a big pile of all the things and then took photos before donating. I dont think it’s healthy to hold onto physical things. They become baggage. That weigh down, physically and mentally.

[@EitherOrr]

Bruh ur slick af now. U goin to be minimalist fashion guru now?

[@mariannasyra5226]

Thank you for this video, I hate it when people take it to extremes. It is so important to me to have stuff from people I love, and I actually use them and they remind me of them so they bring me joy. I mean, isn't that what mininalism is all about? To make your life better and yourself happier?

[@orangejmoothies]

Realizing that most sentimental items really wouldn’t be missed was a great way for me to throw them away. That baby blanket? Throw away. The highschool yearbooks? Throw away. College sweaters and clothes? Throw. Away. But there are somethings that i keep. I have a small printed book that i drew and wrote in the 4th grade. I have another small book that i wrote and drew in the 1st grade. But other things such as real books that i used to collect after i read them i donated them all. Even social media things i have decluttered. I guess it also helped that my previus boss was extremely neat and tidy so he kind of discplined me to be neat and tidy. Not just the things on my desk, but the way i wrote emails, the way i organized my emails and whatnot. The photos on my phone, even the way my computer desktop looks like. Clothes are kinda important to me butttt i guess instead of buying trendy clothes, i just look for “timeless” pieces that are way more expensive but fit me and will last a long time. It’s kind of nice being able to shop like that. Plus i don’t have to keep clearing out my closet every year. WOW WHO IS GOING TO READ THIS -_- haha

[@paige172]

this 💓

[@catgoeskek]

good comment :)

[@vreyacreates1958]

I notice ur appearance is getting clean n cleaner. Pleasing to just see u and ur lifestyle.

[@mattdavella]

People keep calling me the bad boy of minimalism and it's troubling me. I need to clean my image up. What ever you do please do not use the hashtag #badboyofminimalism. Thank you.

[@vreyacreates1958]

@@mattdavella i see what u did there 😏 lets make it a trend 🎉 #badboyofminimalism ur welcome 😊

[@totallynormalcat8048]

YEET #badboyofminimalism

[@renameagain5808]

I'm struggling to understand whether he wants us to use the hashtag or not. Help me, please.

[@DepressionTalks1]

Dude, when you dropped that, my heart dropped lol. I'm glad it's not really an important vase! (joke didn't get old) :]

[@BrendanHufford]

Also, I watched the video version of Todd's interview and can we all just agree that he has impeccable posture?

[@SAMB0307]

I rewatch your videos more than once because I always take something away from them and they motivate me. You/your videos are aesthetically pleasing and the content holds true value. THANK YOU FOR MAKING VIDEOS! (And I'm totally signing up for Patreon!)

[@IslandPonder]

Minimalism: The Caricature- Own less things because less things = good. The Reality- Figure out the optimal collection of material possessions, and remove the rest.

[@marley7659]

Truth!

[@LinetteArroyo]

Taking pictures of items is genius! I already take pictures of invitations or things in paper form that people give me, so I can throw away the actual paper, but this takes it to a whole other level! ☺️ I’m so glad I saw this video.

[@MattMurley]

My mother is a pack rat, very similar to The Minimalists's story from their TED Talk. I don't know how to help her with a lot of her stuff but I knew what to do with all of her photos and photo albums... I scanned and digitized them all and put them on a hard drive (and in the cloud) and sealed the albums in large, plastic containers and put those in long-term storage. They might still be occupying space but it's better than them taking up room in her living room where they also have more of a change of being damaged.

[@tobi.]

A few years ago, the "taking a picture"-method was fortunately a great way for me to get rid of all the things that were important to me, more like a "landmark" in my brain-memory-bank than the item itself. I store them actually in a cloudspace and I found out that it is also very handy for congratulation/holiday cards (the cards which were written by people who actually took time to think about a nice text). Great Video, great advices. (and yes, I had to laught at the second drop again xD good one)

[@cuentyacanceus1746]

youtube finally requests something really good .they are kind of calming and nice to watch. eventhough your editing and cinematography is held quite simple as expected from a minimalist, it is still entertaining, which amazes me because i normally need some crazy shit to make me laugh.

[@rodee1671]

This helped a lot becei am buried in stuff that has no sentimental value to me but absolutely did to those i inherited it from and I've felt obligated to hang on to. Photos! Brilliant. Bless you.

[@jhopefulflower9175]

*my heart dropped with that vase*

[@CubanLegend561]

that quote at 4:32, wow.. it really hit me, hard. You're so right. I'm gonna create an iPhone Album called Sentimental Items, and start taking pics and start getting rid of stuff... thanks for the motivational words and video!

[@shekkie]

I once had the literal worlds largest collection of a discontinued Japanese arcade game as a kid, called butto burst. And my mother threw it out without telling me. I was quite mad because I hadn’t found out for a long time. It just made me feel awful for a long time. I watched this and realized why it didn’t really matter 13 years later.

[@Elysian_s]

Sentimental items are priceless!

[@cggarrod]

Matt, your videos are taking over my KZbin feed!

[@cj0204]

Wife and I are really wanting to get back into minimalism now that our kids are getting older. We have a 2006 civic that we have just sitting in our driveway. I am very emotionally attached to that car. Myself more than my wife. It is my first car that I ever paid off, it’s the first car that I bought my wife. We brought both of our kids home in that car after they were born. So the car means so much to me. So many memories. But it is taking up space and we could actually use the money if we sold it’s I keep telling my self it for the greater good but I just keep dragging my feet on getting rid of it. But I do feel that once I get rid of it. It’ll make decluttering a lot of stuff in my life a lot easier.

[@reychop]

Btw in our country, yearbooks can be used as supporting documents when looking for jobs. If you really want to throw yours just photocopy or scan that one page where your achievements, positions and clubs are listed.

[@angelaalbano8212]

My heart shattert at the beginning

[@DrewGagnon]

Great content Matt. I've just recently started getting into your podcasts. And some of the topics are amazingly relatable. Keep it up!

[@sk8iny0]

dude i completely believed the beginning and when you dropped it scared the shit out of me lmao

[@jjmarroquin6023]

Great tip! Was struggling with this. Your videos are awesome, not only content wise but artistically as well.

[@KasandraWilliams]

That’s was so messed up! My heart dropped cause I though you actually broke it 😩. Great video

[@janishoellger2849]

Please keep uploading helpful videos like this! Subscribed about 3 weeks ago and thanks to youre videos i was able to improve my life in various ways...Greetings from Germany :D

[@AsitorCorporation]

Up until maybe a year ago, I was the kind of person to hoard everything. Not in the sense that I'd have mountains of things in every room, I didn't have much to begin with, but I would hardly ever throw things away. Every item I had, even if it was the floppy disc drive of an old laptop I'd taken apart or some bits of felt left over from a project, or just any random things I had, I would always think "I'll use this at some point". Only recently did I come to terms with the fact that I barely ever did. I'm still in the process of clearing things out, but I've severely brought down how much garbage I own. The trouble is, I don't know if it's like this for other people, I remember exactly where everything I own is. I had 10 shelves, each with 8 large boxes on them, all filled with items. And anytime I needed an item, even if I hadn't seen it in years, I knew exactly where I'd put it before. This always made it hard for me to just throw a box away because I knew what it contained and somehow I would convince myself I would need it. I would multiple times a day end up needing an old notepad or some other junk I had in a box, but when I really thought hard about all of it, I came to realise that if I threw half of it away, I wouldn't actually be any worse off. The sheer amount of junk I was able to throw away was astounding, and when it was gone I felt so relieved because it was like I could let go of so much information from my head that I didn't need to know. I've only got 10 boxes left now, and I still think I can get rid of another 8 before it's just stuff that I need. Sorry for the wall of text, but just writing about how much improvement I've had in my life from decluttering has helped me before and it keeps me motivated, and hopefully other people too.

[@kitinlub]

I flinched and literally jumped unconsciously from my seat when you dropped the vase cnskfhhfuihfjf

[@tnetroP]

Took a picture of all my sentimental stuff and gave them away. Then disposed of my album in the next clear out. Failed :(

[@algammond]

I have trouble with papers because I used to draw a lot and write down a lot of ideas I had and things I wanted to research.

[@naroverse]

I love your humor ahaha

[@justafan6570]

and then here I am who has too much anxiety to get rid of gifts and then the one time I do get rid of something people get offended lol

[@zaggity]

I think this video filled the “mini heart attack” quota for the day thank you very much

[@jameschristensen1658]

that vase looks cool

[@theempressdesha]

My bed set it was my first bed set ever to purchase in my first apartment but I want to move somewhere else. I’m still latched here because of holding on to my dam things that I won’t be able to move (too expensive). I can leave anytime nothing is holding me back except me and my dam furnitures. 🤦🏾‍♀️ lol I worked my ass off for everything you know and to start all over....

[@FerFerMiranda]

Excellent! Thank you so much for this content! 🤙🏼

[@maciejbaran9025]

This is a fucking revolution for me

[@lestatschlongh8065]

I used to have pink blanket and a small Pooh bolster pillow. I grew up with those two items, My dad had that blanket since he was a teen and my parent divorced when i was 1yr old so it's the only thing i have from my dad. As I grew the pillows and blankets got smaller but i still keep them. My mom Threw away my Pooh pillow so the only thing left from my childhood is the pink blanket, the blanket have lots of hole everywhere so my Mom cut them to two parts, one of them is severely damaged the other is in good condition. She kept forcing me to throw away my blanket i said "no, if you want to then just get rid one of them, ket me keep the other" it turns out she get rid both of them i cried all day cause that's the only thing left from my childhood, i don't even have baby picture or picture when i was a kid. I miss my blanket and Pooh, those things possibly no longer exist in this world. i haven't seen anything else similar

[@rachelpamorada833]

I wasn't expecting that intro, my heart dropped!! 😭 I hate you! Lol 😂 But I liked the video ok?

[@KL-nf9on]

i'm gonna start to take photos i really like this idea

[@edablz8715]

I don't take photos of the stuff because if it really ment something it ment it because I remember the moment I got it vividly and I cherish that moment so I don't need a photo to remember it. It's in there

[@NicieWilliams]

OMG.... Why did I straight up jumped when Matt acted like he dropped the vase.... not right!!!! lololol

[@sirraulo9002]

never thought of taking pictures. Great idea!!!

[@Presmelb]

I love that vase!

[@typhlosionisbest]

"This vase has been with my family for generations...YEET"

[@faithwind3376]

typhlosion! Woop woop

[@abstractbybrian]

i would have written this comment earlier but i was finishing my lunch of tomato pie with grits and cheese but now that i'm done i can get on with it. for those extra special items i would recommend a large format film camera. At the very least a 6x6 cm film, a roll of 120 ilford hp5+ 400 iso. what would be the ultimate is photographing memories with an 8x10 film camera. get it printed on ilford paper and hang it on your wall. for everything else, there's your iphone. P.S. keep dropping and breaking things. that made me laugh out loud which now written is sad and rather disturbing. Not to worry got the next session scheduled with my shrink!

[@mattdavella]

Thanks, Brian!

[@tanyajain485]

Thankss Matt! 🤍 This is really valuable tip

[@nataliemeier8640]

Love your Furniture style!!

[@Connoisseurshiphop]

Dear Matt, Can you link to your shelf behind you? It's really beautiful.

[@tanyabaldwin9707]

That intro tho!! You almost had me there...and I almost fell in the toilet 😂😅😂

[@prettywildnights]

You’re my favorite influencer right now

[@AtomikSoup]

I love that idea from Todd Glass.

[@CEPTime2Entertain]

ERMMM When did matt get blue eyes? LOL

[@tim_mcgee]

I'm standing in my kitchen with my computer on the island watching this and when you dropped the vase I tried to catch it... lol

[@alg2x]

Yeah, I know this crazy guy that threw out eveything. Thank you for this vid

[@jonaprogonati2231]

0:16 I got a heart attack ....🤣

[@foxdylan9536]

Life is a one way street, no point looking back

[@MellisaDormoy]

Such a great idea! TY

[@evan9759]

Ah you got rid of yearbooks🤦🏻‍♂️. If I started minimalism I would definitely put them on a priority list

[@soumayyahrahmtullah9563]

My heart stopped when that "fell"

[@LuisVasquez-jc3uz]

your channel makes me want to be explore minimalism

[@gadgetboyplaysmc]

lmao that song in the beginning.. I thought I accidentally played some relaxing jazz work music compilation video.

[@FM-ke1wb]

I called bs when u started fake crying lol

[@alexis-vb3tr]

a problem i have is i feel terrible about getting rid of gifts the album will definitely help. i may even do it with polaroids!

[@Scanteie87]

20 seconds in and you already made my day :)))

[@heliaalves9062]

I have lost all my pictures. If you are thinking of doing this, make sure you have at least 2 backups or you may end up with no memories at all.

[@devarrelayubpulungan4676]

being a minimalist is hard, especially this part.

[@discodeacy4215]

Chief it shouldn’t be if you have something that brings you a lot of joy keep your shit! Minimalism shouldn’t be hard

[@RevJamesCostello]

So just take a picture and toss it.

[@glycinate]

My 2 year old laughed at your jokes. He found it funnier the second time

[@lafan9872]

I took photos of my 93 pickup before we sold it. It was my first car and in the 2 years of owning I grew attached to it. But it had alot of problems because the past owner, my sis, does not know how to take care of cars lol. Hurt to let it go but at the end of the day it was for the best and I'm not out their in the street with a wrench every week

[@misterchief5378]

dude my heart fucking dropped when the thing sounded like it broke

[@sayabukanzhask2222]

I got rid of my sentimental items, ...and I regret it after watching this video. ;(

[@tarbonation1703]

I laughed so hard when he, "dropped" the vase.

[@racheleleanor101]

I was FREAKED when you “crushed” the vase😩😂

[@mattherdman]

I'm glad we share the same size love for cereal. Favorite cereal?

[@maryfowler3524]

I have a blanket and I've slept with it every night since I had my own bed. It's getting really worn out and old so I'm making it into a pillow case.

[@aiya3130]

My late grandmother left me a ton of old jewelry that wasn't my style. I couldn't figure out what to do with it. Finally it hit me that I should have tested it for lead a long time ago. It was a bit pricey (about $3 per swab) but easy to do at home and I'm so glad I did. The vast majority of it had dangerous levels of lead; scary to think I'd had them in my room for so long! I took pictures of those items, pitched them, and kept the rest. Now my home is safer and a lot less cluttered! And I have a reasonable number of items to keep as mementos, instead of being overwhelmed. :)

[@claudiao9933]

OMG!! My heart aches from that intro!! I was sooo into your story and then boom!! 🙊🙈

[@julieelizabeth510]

Your eyes match your T-shirt. But in a more serious note, I am trying to get to minimalism but my husband just can't let go of a lot of sh*t. We have 30 different candles stick holders. They need to be gone. Help!

[@imjustwolf]

I'm intrigued by the minimalist lifestyle and am glad I found this channel, but this video in particular I have issues with honestly... I'm not trying to say we should hoard every single item that has an ounce of sentimental value, but what I am saying is humans are sentimental creatures and it is nice to hold onto some things you said to get rid of like yearbooks, and whatever else. I feel like getting rid of some stuff like that is warranted but sometimes it could also be damaging to our mentality. I feel like there should have been more emphasis on getting people to think about what they need to keep than I felt was actually in this video.

[@para_dies8071]

That intro got me😂😂😂