Sometimes an item exists just to be itself. A yearbook doesn't have any value if it isn't yours, or if you don't invest it with some. If you decide you don't want something, fine – but it seems very strange to keep around a formless simulacra of it.
A fujitsu sheet feeding scanner has been the single most liberating device I've ever owned.
When you cut apart something like a yearbook to scan it, its almost a religious experience. In faith, you sacrifice the book's corporeal form so that its essence can ascend into the cloud and live forever.
Scanned copies are a lot easier to 'take out' and browse through.
My main reason for wanting to downsize was because I didn't want to bring a bunch of clutter and stuff into my new home and life because I was starting a new life in a way. There was something appealing about having a fresh start. I still have this where when we have moved homes, I get very interested in downsizing again. It's the lure of the fresh start and getting rid of the clutter.
Another reason was because I wanted clear up some personal mental and emotional energy. I think in a way I was tired of how attached I was to some of my stuff because I recognized that I was still getting my identity from what I used to do. When the reality was, those things were not a part of my life anymore. For example, one of my first jobs was as an editor for a very small publication. I held onto every single magazine I was a part of. I think I was sick of holding on to my past and I wanted to move on. It isn't that I wanted to forget my past experiences, I just didn't want to find my identity in it anymore. Getting rid of the stuff helped me tremendously with that.
Take good care.
So, I asked my then-fiance for some help. Here's what we did.
Phase 1 - Sorting: My fiancé came over and took all of my possessions and dumped everything onto my living room floor. The pile looked like a big ugly hill. I never imagined that I had so much stuff because when it was all so organized back then. He also brought a bunch of file-sided boxes with handles from Staples, and brought in the large outdoor garbage can (the huge one that you put out on the curb every week).
We then got to work. We had boxes for things to keep, things to give away and the large trashcan for things to throw away. I sorted through everything until the floor was clear.
Phase 2 - Digitizing: We then went through a digitized everything that could be digitized. Photos were sent to a photo scanning service. Yearbooks, journals, birthday cards, important books, etc were torn apart and put through a fujitsu scanner. For things that couldn't be fed through a scanner, like my drums and gifts that had sentimental value, I took a picture of it and donated it. This was a large project that took several months.
Phase 3 - Detaching: There were things from phase 1 that I knew I didn't want to keep, but that I didn't want to get rid of either. So I kept those things in boxes in my closet until I was ready to get rid of it. It took probably several months to a year to get rid of some of those boxes. Keeping those items in boxes helped me to detach from them emotionally until I was ready to get rid of them. However, there were some items that even after a year and a half, I still was attached to. So my husband took them out and put them in our living room again so that I could face it. I eventually got rid of those things too, but I took a picture of those items so that I could still keep the memories of what those things represented before donating them.