In my first blog post, 10 Reasons Its Awesome the Economy Sucks, I mentioned the benefits of having less stuff. I’d like to take this beyond the first step—stop buying things you don’t need—and offer a guideline for de-cluttering the assortment of stuff you’ve collected over the years. Freeing your space of unnecessary distractions may have an immediate calming effect on your state of mind, making it far easier to deal with aforementioned sucky economy!
I originally wrote this post for MyThings.com for people who just can’t part with that Atari. Or leopard-print feather boa. Or giant bag of foam chips. You know you don’t need that thing if:
20. You use the word “someday” to describe it—as in “someday I may want to practice make-up application using that mannequin head I found in my aunt’s attic.”
19. You forgot you owned it for more than a month, and remembering doesn’t evoke any type of emotional response (beyond generic statements, such as “I like it” or “I need it.”)
18. If you had a yard sale and someone offered $20 for it, you’d hand it over in a heartbeat.
17. If your friend gave it to you as a Christmas gift you’d make a mental note along the lines of “Give Lisa alphabet magnets and socks next year.”
16. If your friends asked you why you have it you’d turn into Deepak Chopra, saying something like, “We are all connected. You, me, that orange hobby horse.”
15. Its broken or, even worse, obsolete (i.e.: your old car phone).
14. If you decided to spend a year traveling you wouldn’t consider bringing it with you.
13. If you had to spend $20 every month maintaining it, you’d decide it isn’t worth it.
12. You’d admit it may be someone else’s trash, but have no justification for it being your treasure.
11. You cannot complete this sentence with an action verb: “I will use this to…”
10. If your child accidentally damaged it, your knee jerk reaction would be “I didn’t really need it anyway.”
9. It hurts to think about it: Your ex-boyfriend gave it to you. Your mother-in-law said you need it, but you disagree. You fit in it before your love affair with curly fries.
8. You got it from someone else and admit you’d never spend money your own money on it.
7. The Salvation Army might say no if you tried to donate it.
6. If you asked your mother’s opinion about keeping it, she might say something like, “Well, what do you think? That’s all that really matters!”
5. It smells like moth balls because it rarely sees the light of day.
4. Learning how to use it would take more time than you will ever devote. (And be honest—do you really think metal casting is your thing?)
3. You’re keeping it out of guilt—it’s still new in the box; it looks like something a smart person would appreciate; it’s a classic 500-page book you should have read freshman year in college.
2. You keep saying it could be valuable one day—but who are you kidding. You never want anyone else to have it!
1. You would never clutch it and say “My precious” in a gesture of playful self-mocking. (Assume you’re the kind of person who goes to medieval fairs and quotes Lord of the Rings.)
If it’s not valuable, meaningful, or important to your life, either trash it give it away. You’re likely only attached to the memory it holds, so why not just take a picture? Make a photo album of the things you loved but didn’t need and then reclaim your space. If it does serve a purpose, get the most from it, and let it go when you can’t get any more.
Know any other signs? Add them to the list! Or if you have something that doesn’t pass the 20-signs-test but you still want to keep it, let me know. I’m fascinated by the way we attach to things. Please excuse me while I go braid the hair on my life-size My Little Pony.
By Lori Deschene, Photo The Pug Father
Good tips Lori- I know we end up keeping stuff because our parents gave them to us and even though we hate it, we keep it just in case they stop by. It is silly and we are trying to change that thought process! Thanks for the reminder.
Hey Jay! Glad you liked the tips. I am a huge proponent of minimalism. I noticed in the past when I had too many things around me I was frequently distracted and even agitated. I’m curious; what stuff did your parents give you that you pull out for their visit?
Great list. I try to de-clutter, but I seem to ALWAYS be doing it, LOL! Since moving to Florida 3 years ago, we’ve had 6 garage sales. What does that tell you?
Thanks for the article…I’ll be passing it along.
Oh so true! We moved about a year ago and got rid of so much junk! It felt so good to de-clutter. I did another de-clutter a few months ago…oh that felt so good. I like to keep my house clear of “stuff” and in Feng Shui philosophies it’s a very good thing. Too much clutter makes me feel scattered.
Great post! I have some drawers to go through now…
Betty~ Definitely sounds like you’ve accumulated your share of clutter! I used to be that way with books. I had dozens of boxes of them, and I just couldn’t let them go. No one bought them at a garage sale, so I started giving them away, one-by-one, to people I thought would enjoy them. I like those memories now so much more than I ever liked the books =)
Caroline~ I couldn’t agree more. Whenever I have stacks of papers lying around I feel…well, scattered. Did a little cleaning, tonight, actually. And once again I feel clarity.
I’m not known to get attached to things or places and so it’s really easy for me to clear out my junk and simplify. At the same time, I like buying things and so inevitably fill up my life with junk again. Perhaps it’d save me money if I didn’t clear out my junk and make it so I just don’t have space to buy new junk
That last one made me laugh out loud. I have stuff everywhere in my house and my car and it does leave me feeling kind of all over the place. A lot of its just crap and I’m too lazy to clear it out. I’m probably like KyNam, when I get rid of all the old junk I find more. Thanks for the list!!
I’m great at throwing stuff away, but my wife is just the opposite. If I haven’t worn something for over a year (suits notwithstanding) it’s one. This had led to occasionally looking for something that I gave away years ago and then whining about it.
About 2 months ago I threw all my Toastmasters ribbons and trophies away. Actually there were only 2 trophies, but that’s still plural.
About 10 years ago when over at my in-laws I suggested my wife sell her wedding dress. My father-in-law agreed. You’d have thought we announced we were just off to throw a bag of kittens into the river before burning down the local old folks home and adding acid to the local school water supply such was the response.
I haven’t mentioned it again and it’s still in a box in a cupboard.
The Salvation Army did turn down a lovely wall unit. It was a Liquor cabinet! Last move we moved from a house to where we are – one half the size. We are soon to move again – to half the size of this one. Your advice will echo around our house – with different emotional tones in the phrases LOL.
i love this post!
throwing something out always allows me to take a deep breath and relax for a minute, i love the feeling of ridding myself of even a tiny bit of clutter
Great list Lori – It would be even funnier if more of them didn’t actually apply to me or my husband
And perfect timing because I am on a mission this week to eject clutter from my home and office so thanks!
KyNam~ LOL too funny. I don’t make a lot of large purchases, but I do find myself attracted to things at yard sales. One time I came home with a jade sake set, a large candle shaped like a yin yang, and a bag of doll clothes. I don’t collect dolls. It’s long gone now but it all seemed so tempting for a combined $7.50!
Tim~ The wedding dress! Now that’s interesting. Despite all my minimalist leanings, I can’t imagine parting with my wedding dress. I can, however, see re-purposing it. It would be cool to cut it into patches and make a quilt. Now all I need to do is get married so I can make this fantastic blanket.
Bosco~ Sounds like you’ve been doing some serious downsizing. What ever became of that poor, unwanted cabinet?
Gina~ So nice to see you here! You and me both. I actually really enjoy throwing something in the trash, even though I know I should donate it or sell it. (Not the most eco-friendly admission, but I swear I don’t do this often!) There’s just something symbolic about labeling something as garbage.
Susan~ Good luck with the house/office cleaning!
I’ll cut it up now whilst Helen is at work. I’ll let you know what she says later. What could possibly go wrong?
Sounds like a brilliant plan! You are too funny, Tim =)
Helpful tips. A lot of people are looking for more living space. Bigger house or apartment. Much of this can be accomplished by simply getting rid of the things that aren’t needed or used. I find that an uncluttered room is a lot more peaceful too.
Hi Gennaro~ So true! George Carlin did this funny routine about Americans and consumerism; he said our homes are just places to store all our stuff. I’d like to think my home is more than that; it’s a place where I can be peaceful, not trapped by my things.
#14. If you decided to spend a year traveling you wouldn’t consider bringing it with you. That’s close to the one that my wife and I have been using lately. We have a dream of living in Europe for a while and we always ask, “Would we ship this to Europe?”. It’s helped us get rid of a lot.
[...] you begin your spring cleaning, why not replace all that stuff you don’t need with a little extra [...]
[...] Having trouble identifying what to keep and what to get rid of? Here are 20 Signs You Really Don’t Need That Thing. [...]
[...] you begin your spring cleaning, why not replace all that stuff you don’t need with a little extra [...]
i keep everything my children had incase their children might use them, toys pictures clothes books. they are now in their late 20s and they dont have children. when i said to my son i was going to sell his he man and skeletor he was upset and wanted me to keep them. he didnt have a reason just thought i should keep them after all i had kept them for 20yrs already
[...] Having trouble identifying what to keep and what to get rid of? Here are 20 Signs You Really Don’t Need That Thing. [...]