I really appreciated your book. It has made a big difference in my life. However, I have difficulty in some areas more than others. For instance I have kept almost everything that my 3 children have ever made, drawn, etc. and find I have difficulty giving away all that much of the clothing they have had. My thoughts are for instance, "What if I or they will want to look at all their drawings?" when we are old/older!!!"

Something tells me I am not rational in this. Have you any ideas how I can alter my thinking so as to be free from all this - I guess - clutter?

- W.J., Sweden

Karen's reply:

Speaking as one who has survived totally emotionally unscathed without retaining any of the trappings of my childhood whatsoever, I can assure you that it's perfectly OK to let these things go. Rather than planning to dwell in the nostalgia of years gone by it is far more beneficial for you and your children to deeply appreciate each other as you are. Live in the present moment rather than the past.

If this doesn't convince you then I have another suggestion to wean you off this hoarding tendency. I'm going to reiterate the advice in my book:

If you have particularly fond attachments to items that date back to your tender childhood years, here's something you can do that many people have found very liberating - photograph them for posterity and then let them go. The photos will retain those heart-warming images forever and can be stored in a fraction of the space the items themselves would take up.

In your case I would refine this further and suggest that you photograph only the best and simply dump the rest. Otherwise you will end up with a huge album of photos you won't know what to do with. I'd say that 10 or 20 photos is more than enough for you to capture the flavour of those times.

See also my comments about journals earlier on this page. Artwork and journalling are a very similar process.