When my sister and I began the huge task of clearing out the personal belongings of our parents' house, we decided on some rules to follow.  The absolute rule was the each item would only have one touch from one of us.  Of course we discussed some items, but the one with the item in hand had to make the decision before moving on to the next thing. As you can image it took us months to go through the house in which we were raised.  We were very efficient, systematic and objective until...The Old Cookie Tin. 

The Old Cookie Tin was now a dull grey with a dent on one side and our mom's name written in her hand on top.  (We would not want someone walking away with our treasured cookie tin at a picnic or social gathering.  After all, it had  that homemade cookies inside.)

When we found the cookie tin, neither one of us wanted to pick it up.  Who would make the decision on the treasured item.  One of us picked it up and then it passed back and forth between us like a hot potato.  We started laughing at our unique reaction to the Old Cookie Tin out of this entire house of things.   

Well...I took the cookie tin.  When the first Christmas came, I loaded up the Old Cookie Tin with homemade cookies and took it to our family celebration.  We now pass it back and forth each year.

It is a cute story, but there is a deeper meaning here.  There will be many things in your life that have sentimental value.  The reality is that you cannot keep everything.  Just keep in mind there is a place to keep some things that just can't be thrown or given away.