I'm writing to see if you want to go along with my experiment today: I'm going to take Cheryl Richardson's advice* and throw away (or give away) more than feels comfortable to get rid of.
I have a modest amount of possessions, and I run an uncluttered home, but I keep some "useful" things (that I'm not currently using) because
a. I'm a homeowner and need to keep up a large home on my own.
b. I'm a parent of kids under 18 and I never know when one of them will need a _____________ (fill in the blank) for a school project, or art project, or any project.
c. I'm frugal.
But at what cost do I keep these things? Here are some of the prices I pay to keep "useful things" (i.e. junk).
~ Less space in my home for actual living. Clutter consumes square footage, and I actually like my footage clear, thank you.
~ Not enough space to spread out and do paperwork, because I have "useful" things around my computer desk/work area.
~ It takes more time to find things, get them out of storage, and put them away with clutter around.
~More time cleaning (ugh! the more clutter, the longer it takes to maneuver around it to clean, and I also have to clean the actual clutter too).
So I'm going to take 20 minutes and get rid of more than feels comfortable. Want to try it with me? Let's do it, and risk...well, what are we risking, exactly?
We're risking making a mistake by throwing or giving away something that we might need someday.
Let's think about this. If we discover that we really need something again, something that we got rid of today, then we could
~ buy another one
~ borrow one from a friend, neighbor, or family member
~ rent it
~ figure out something else to replace it
~figure out a way to live without it.
I can live with that. We're not talking about throwing or giving away expensive or truly loved or really useful items, just things that have become (or always were!) clutter.
Should regret sweep over me, I have the funds to replace a five-month old copy of Traditional Home magazine, a turtleneck whose neck doesn't fold right, and a half-used bottle of facial toner. I could easily replace these things, if I truly regret getting rid of them.
I'm taking the risk.
How about you?
Let's spend 20 minutes getting rid of more than feels comfortable to us. Come on, let's do it!
*Richardson, Cheryl. Life Makeovers. Broadway Books. New York. 2002. Pg. 78.
