pattrstorage & saving only certain elements in a slot

For all you pattrstorage experts out there:

There are times when I am storing a preset that I only want save a couple of the variables stored in a slot vs. all the variables. If for nothing else it is to cut down on some confusion in the XML file. For example, say I have 3 number boxes, "bob" "sam" "fred". In most fo the slots I want "bob" & "sam" stored, but in a few cases I just want just "fred" stored. Again, I have it all working and am extracting the right data when I need it...I'm just trying to clean up a pretty crazy XML file so it can be edited (and understood) by others outside of Max.

Thanks for any advice.

Best,
David