when we don't declutter...

[yukonsally]

In the past week or so, we've rearranged some rooms, moved some office things, organized some things. We were able to pull things out of storage that we needed, rather than having to go out and buy things again.

How do you, personally, decide what to keep "just in case" and what to send along?

What's the criteria? The deciding factor?



When Spouse and I couldn't find the office things easily, we thought they had been given away, but Spouse did find the things. I could see why we had thought we'd given the things away... and why we could have kept them. We could have easily never needed them again.

Comments

[kalloway]

With a lot of things I'm decluttering right now, it's a combination of likelihood-of-use and cost-to-replace.

Since a lot of what I've been getting rid of is craft material, it's been 'roll of teal ribbon, probably won't need any time soon, will cost 99 cents to replace if I need it' types of items.

For other things, it's 'when did I last use this? what's the likelihood of me using this?' or similar. Basically, if it's something that I honestly can't see myself using any time in the next couple of years or so, or if I haven't used it since I moved here (six years ago), I'm probably never going to need it. And more likely than not, if I suddenly do need an item, I can afford to buy it again and it'll probably be a modern version with more features (even if it's plates that can be microwaved vs ones that can't) than what I got rid of.

[tanaqui]

I've got a lot better at getting rid of things that I previously would have kept "just in case" now I'm on my third or fourth pass through most areas. I think have a few questions I ask myself.

Am I willing to use the space I have to store it? That doesn't just mean will it fit in the space I have. With the amount of stuff that's gone out of my house/garage/garden, it's clear I could keep all those things in my house/garage/garden -- but at the cost of not being able to easily access things and the mental load of visual clutter.

How difficult or expensive would it be to replace it?

Am I really likely to use it? (Or do I need to accept it's an "abandoned dream" or something for the "fantasy me" who's never going to exist?)

If I did need this kind of item, would I actually want to use this particular one or would I find myself wanting to buy a new one that's in better condition or has the latest features? One of the things I've learned to let go of is the idea I need to use or keep things until they either fall apart or break (even if that makes my life much harder than buying a new one would).

For things where there's an emotional component (for example, it was a gift, I inherited it, or I spent money on it), do I even like it? (And does it make me feel good or bad about myself?)