Please help and soon!
Background: I am mid-40's with 2 small kids from one marriage. My own mom was a hoarder who in late life had Alzheimer's and never knew her grandkids. My own dad was a tosser sentimental about very little very non-demonstrative towards my kids and then he died when they were less than 6. Both my parents are gone. I know I harbor both fear of ever being a hoarder and regret for the loss of some really special things my dad tossed out from my childhood and, in fact, that I tossed out in my late 20's that when I finally had my own kids at 36 I wished I could have shared those items with my kids. My husband and I are very much old fashioned and nostalgic. And yet... I realize the truth is have had a few solitary items like a favorite coat from my childhood, a Winnie the Pooh (my fave) PJ top, 2 calico dresses, one favorite T-shirt, my Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy, and one tiny baby doll (pat-a-burp) that have meant the world to me to be able to share with my children. I am having no more children at this point. Nor adopting.

And so now here I am sorting through a TON of baby clothes form my kids early years. Seems I'd put it into a box everything in case I'd need it for the next kid, but had one girl, one boy, so very few hand me downs.

As I sit and try to sort, I get very attached to these things. Very emotional. Twisted up inside. Some of me wants to save an item because I oh so remember my baby in it--they wore it a LOT. Or I want to save an item because it is what my girl was wearing in a particular favorite photo I have of her with grandpa. Or I want to save an item because it is such a nice cotton dress much like the calico ones I was able to save from my own childhood and so I think it will survive the years very well and will make me feel that special feeling I felt seeing my little girl in the dress I remembered wearing and loving to wear as a child. [But why do I get that strong feeling in the first place? ] (I do realize God might never bless me with a granddaughter... but I push that thought from my mind and stay attached to a dress..! ) or I want to save a particular item because if I get Alzheimer's I want to be sure to have this item--a particular style of bib or snowsuit or mitten that I found to be one of the best baby clothes purchases I made for myself that was very useful and better than other styles out there and so in keeping it I want to help my daughter make that good choice as a new parent--because I never got any advice fomr my own mom lost to Alzheimer's and I so made many ill-advised purchases and struggled with baby clothes until I discovered a particular piece (like pulling a regular T-shirt collar over a big baby head and then finally realizing the split or snap-size collar has it's usefulness) or I keep all their Christmas outfits or Easter dresses because I remember how expensive those nice outfits were for a one-time-use and were either gifted to us or I spent way too much $ on it and I want to save my kids money when they are young parents and be the Grandma who can afford to give them a nice outfit (we are not a well-to-do family).

I have room to store it all. But I don't want to. I don't really think it is good for me to even keep half of it but every time I try to reduce the pile, I can find a reason not to let go of any piece I pick up. HELP! I'd like to make some $ having a yard sale, we can always use some extra $. But I am mentally trapped.

Further, I'd like advice from other 'savers' as far as--do things with elastic even survive storage through the years? Or swim suits? If not, that might give me a reason to let go of anything with elastic waistband, etc. Most everything I have is 100% cotton otherwise.

How in the world do I make healthy decisions on what to keep and how much or what to put into my yard sale?

I too like to hold on. But I came to a point when I just had to let go. You have to keep it in your mind that these items are not your children. They are just items. Items that when your children have children they will not use. By then, they will be outdated, and some, just ruined over time. Give them to someone that could use them now. The needy would love them. It really feels good to give.
I saved some special things for myself. One steamer trunk full of the most wonderful memories.
Start a journal. Write down all your motherly advice. A tips and memories journal. Your children will cherish it. Come to think of it, I think I'll start one myself!

I have two sons in their 30s who are more intrigued with their old school papers and drawings than with their baby and toddler clothes. When I (the oldest child) got pregnant, my mom took me upstairs into her attic to go through all the baby and kid clothes she had saved. I picked out some gowns and jammies and bibs. Most of the clothes were out of date with stains that had aged and could never be removed. Elastic had dried up and no longer stretched properly. As a young mom, she had made all my clothes--cute dresses with smocking, frilly bonnets, little boleros--which I couldn't use for my two sons and which my sister later had no interest in for her daughter. My mom eventually gave away some of the baby clothes to a charity and threw out a bunch of them.

A friend's mom did just the opposite--she got rid of EVERYthing, so there are only memories now.

I suggest you save some of the cleanest and most memorable clothes (christening dress, fancy handmade dress, etc.) and pass on the rest to a charity or church yard sale/bazaar. There are always so many new fabrics and fun patterns and cute styles for babies and toddlers. If no one wears the saved treasures, they just sit in a box in the attic and take up space. And for what? An annual review?

Thanks to all. That has helped me some to weed out a few more items--but, as far as 'personal growth' anybody have any insight as to why I feel so emotionally charged the way I do anfd how to redirect my thinking to a healthier viewpoint overall?

(After I wrote this, I read it and maybe am a bit over the top in your situation. You definitely have an emotional investment in those baby clothes. It may not be hoarding, but you do have to give yourself permission to let go of them. This is the perennial mothers' problem -- parting with cherished baby clothes and all those memories.)

You probably are hard-wired for this. It's called obsessive-compulsive (OCD) behavior, in your case hoarding. Some people, especially women, hoard stray cats, hoping to keep them from being euthanized or even shot by the village or county. Others hoard mail, newspapers, and other papers and stack them up all over the house because "there may be something important in them so don't throw them away just yet!" Still others hoard food and bottles of water and justify it by saying they are preparing for a terrorist attack. Oprah occasionally features guests who shop for and hoard clothes or paper goods or just anything and then shows how an organizing company cleans up the mess and teaches the hoarder how to change his ways.

The rationale is to the hoarder a good thing, to somehow save things that shouldn't be destroyed or thrown away. As soon as something is thrown out, someone will need or want it! A friend of mine says that it's done with the idea that the hoarder is afraid of death, that as long as there are "things" around that have to be taken care of or gone through, he will never die.

Some cases need psychiatric help and medication. Others are able, usually with someone's help, to gradually let go of "stuff." (But the Oprah guests who were helped tended to fall back into hoarding.)

My mom's advice is to touch something once (don't stack it) -- like with mail, deal with it by immediately paying the bill, filing the information in a marked file folder, or throwing junk into the trash. She says start the job and always finish it, and don't leave it half done and lying around whether it be clothes to wash or put away, dirty dishes, bills to pay, gifts to wrap, homework, etc. One of my favorite bosses, a library director, made a rule that, after we locked the library doors at 9 p.m. the evening crew was to walk through the library straightening books on the shelf, putting magazines where they belong, and putting on a reshelving cart the books that were left on tables. If we moved fast and worked together, we'd be out of there in ten minutes. The night custodian could clean more easily, and the morning crew had a pleasant workplace. (I carried this idea over into my housekeeping, picking up messes before I went to bed.)

It's a mindful effort one has to make. Tackling a small amount, say, once an hour or handling ten items once a day will help slowly but steadily reduce an overwhelming situation. It also works in reducing credit card debt and explains how the Grand Canyon was formed -- step by step and inch by inch and drop by drop.

There are other OCD expressions -- perfectionism, for instance, but that's another lecture. :D

My mom kept all of my baby clothes somewhere. So I think that's natural. You're reading too much into your own actions. I'm a collector too. Some people like to collect stamps. Some like sports cards. I like collecting pins and key chains. You just happened to like baby clothes that have a sentimental value. I completely respect that!

As for your personal growth, there are a combination of things that you could try.

1) Have you considered seeing a therapist? Talking to friends and family is great, but having a neutral third person with professional training can really help.

2) If you have time, you can also do some light reading: The Guide to Self-Help Books – Recommended Self-Help Books - Self-Help Book Reviews

3) Otherwise, you can always come here and talk to us! We'll try to help any way we can.

Just to let you know that this question and answers helped me to get rid of nearly all of my daughter's baby clothes, I only have a very small bag left compared to boxes and boxes of them. I think what resonated with me was when somebody said that when your children have children they will not use because by then they would be outdated and some ruined and somebody could use them now so I took that advice and it felt great plus by removing bags of clothes we were able to clean the walls that were mouldy due to lack of air and damp. Thanks.