If you have been following our de-cluttering boot camp, you should have made some progress going through items box by box, bag by bag or section by section. Some items are obvious keepers, such as the cooking pot you use every day, while others are obviously not keepers, such as last month’s newspaper. Everything you own should do one of the following three things, if not all three:
- Be useful
- Be beautiful
- Make you very happy
Inevitably in your de-cluttering process, you will come across items that are none of these things, but you find that you just can’t part with them. The “I can’t get rid of that!” syndrome. There is no good reason for keeping these items, although most people rationalize that there is. Here are the main reasons we keep things that don’t contribute to our well-being and the goal of having a clutter-free home.
The item is sentimental. There is no way that you will ever wear that prom dress again, but it brings back memories of a wonderful evening. My advice is to take a photo of it or cut a scrap of the dress and frame it for the memory. Cute baby clothes can be made into a quilt or donated to bless others. Sentimental things tend to be born not only from different times in your life but different people, especially if they have passed. Honor the memory of a loved one in a way that doesn’t include lots of clutter. It is more respectful, anyway. Move forward and rid yourself of the negative ghosts of the past.
The item was expensive. It is tough to part with something that you paid a lot of money for or something that might be worth some day. The item is not contributing to your financial wealth by sitting in your garage, attic or middle of the living room. Realize your mistake with the purchase, forgive yourself and move on. You can sell the item to recoup some of the cost, donate the item to a charity and claim the deduction on your taxes, or gift it to someone who will love it.
Check back later for more reasons that we hold on to items we don’t need or want, and what to do about it.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
De-Cluttering Boot Camp: Being Overwhelmed
De-Cluttering Boot Camp: Finding Time
Welcome to De-Cluttering Boot Camp
De-Cluttering Boot Camp: Roadblocks
4 Ways Clutter Can Cost You Money
De-cluttering with Young Children