De-Clutter - How Do You Tell What Stuff to Keep?
How much stuff does a person really need? It seems odd that things can hold such an emotional hold on us.
What is your most valuable possession? Is it of monetary importance, or emotional.
How to we get attached to things?When does it begin to be clutter? Try this test - does the item serve as a reminder of a moment, feeling or person?Do you have so much things around you from the past that it makes it hard to move on to the future?Only you can say.
Take the mementos and set them around you in the room.
Are they in good condition? Do they bring joy or sadness to the room? Take a notebook and make three columns on the paper.
Label them Memento/Memory/Stay or Go.
List the items down the page.
For example Teddy Bear/From my Dad/ Stay because it reminds me of my Dad as I go to bed each night, it is like he is still here to tuck me in.
(for me, this is a keeper, but I only have one bear to remind me not a dozen).
Are you finding some treasures that can be shared with someone else or given away? Give it some thought.
Another category is necessity.
That heavy coat may only be worn 3 days out of the year.
However, it really comes in handy on those three days.
One way to determine if you are wearing all those clothes in the closet is to turn the hangers allthe same direction at the beginning of the season.
As you wear each item, turn it the opposite direction when it is replaced.
At the end of the season, the clothes still in the original position have not been worn.
Can't you find a better use for them.
Sure, there are some items, such as formal wear or a couple of expensive dresses that you only wear for special occasions and not every year.
Those are potential keepers.
But ifyou have more sweaters than you can wear in a season, let someone else enjoy them next winter.
Also check for condition and fit.
If it is ragged and worn out, toss it out.
Keep a couple of outfits for dirty jobs, but not a whole box of them.
When in doubt, toss it out.
I admit that sometimes you may throw out something you will miss, but it won't last long.
Removing clutter from your life opens room for new experiences and people to find their way to you.
What is your most valuable possession? Is it of monetary importance, or emotional.
How to we get attached to things?When does it begin to be clutter? Try this test - does the item serve as a reminder of a moment, feeling or person?Do you have so much things around you from the past that it makes it hard to move on to the future?Only you can say.
Take the mementos and set them around you in the room.
Are they in good condition? Do they bring joy or sadness to the room? Take a notebook and make three columns on the paper.
Label them Memento/Memory/Stay or Go.
List the items down the page.
For example Teddy Bear/From my Dad/ Stay because it reminds me of my Dad as I go to bed each night, it is like he is still here to tuck me in.
(for me, this is a keeper, but I only have one bear to remind me not a dozen).
Are you finding some treasures that can be shared with someone else or given away? Give it some thought.
Another category is necessity.
That heavy coat may only be worn 3 days out of the year.
However, it really comes in handy on those three days.
One way to determine if you are wearing all those clothes in the closet is to turn the hangers allthe same direction at the beginning of the season.
As you wear each item, turn it the opposite direction when it is replaced.
At the end of the season, the clothes still in the original position have not been worn.
Can't you find a better use for them.
Sure, there are some items, such as formal wear or a couple of expensive dresses that you only wear for special occasions and not every year.
Those are potential keepers.
But ifyou have more sweaters than you can wear in a season, let someone else enjoy them next winter.
Also check for condition and fit.
If it is ragged and worn out, toss it out.
Keep a couple of outfits for dirty jobs, but not a whole box of them.
When in doubt, toss it out.
I admit that sometimes you may throw out something you will miss, but it won't last long.
Removing clutter from your life opens room for new experiences and people to find their way to you.
