As a WAHM, I sometimes struggle with guilt. I think many of us do. Are there enough hours in the day when you work from home and have home work too? When you try to bring order out of chaos at home, do you sometimes have guilt about the “things” in your life you would like to toss?
Here are sources of clutter clearing guilt: “But I paid good money for it.” “It
was a gift from…” “I inherited it from…” “It still has some use or life left
in it.” “It will come back in style again someday.” “I might use it again
someday.” We can tackle each of these clutter excuses one by one.
“But I paid good money for it.” Yes, if you say you did, you did. However,
whatever “it” is, it is currently stalling your life and reducing space for
other things because it isn’t paying rent. You give “it” space at a cost to you.
Maybe you clean and dust or maintain “it” too. Items like this are debits not
credits in life. Maybe it could be sold online, gifted to someone you know, or donated.
“It was a gift from…” Whoever gave it to you wanted to do something nice for you. The giver didn’t intend to slow you down with guilt. Appreciate and respect the gift giver by feeling free to honor their intent. Use or pass on gifts as you see fit.
“I inherited it from…” This hard. You are probably sad and miss the person who passed these items on to you. That sadness is in your heart. The memories are in your heart. The memories are not in your closet, basement, or attic.
Consider keeping one or a few representative samples of inherited items. Take photos and journal about the rest. Be sure to tell younger family members the stories behind the items that you keep so they will know why these are family treasures and treat them accordingly. Pass on the rest when you are ready. It is not unloving or disrespectful.
“It still has some use or life left in it.” Yes, it does! However, it is
draining the life from you. You don’t have the space, time, or energy to move on to new things or activities in your life because you continue to hang onto, store, and maintain “it.” Since it has some use or life in it still, pass it on, donate it, or sell it while it still does.
“It will come back in style again someday.” When? When will it come back in
style? What will you be doing then? What will you want your wardrobe to look like? Will it come back in style in exactly the same details that it has now? I don’t think so! Our bodies change. Our minds change. Styles certainly change.
The 80-20 rule of life and wardrobe says we wear 20 percent of our clothing (our favorites) 80 percent of the time. So, why is the other 80 percent crammed into our closet? Wouldn’t it be more fun to face a closet full of friends rather than enemies each morning?
“I might use it again someday.” This is the catchall remark for almost anything that is being hung onto past its current usefulness. It applies to everything above and anything else. Do you grow? Do you change over time? Consider that is is quite likely that you may not use it again someday. This is a trust issue of sorts. Trust that the Universe will provide what you need when you need it (or, keep in mind that if you really do have a future need for “it,” you could probably pick up another one relatively cheaply at a garage sale).
Hanging onto clutter can keep us stuck in a time warp. Consider tossing some of the clutter clearing excuses and free up space, time, and energy for calmness and order and for new adventures to come into your life. What clutter clearing excuses do you make?
For more clutter clearing and home organizing tips, check out Barbara Tako’s blog at http://www.clutterclearingchoices-simplybarb.blogspot.com and sign up for her FREE monthly clutter clearing tips newsletter.
Contriubted by Guest Blogger:
Barbara Tako, author of “Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, & Reclaim Your Life”(O Books, Jan., 2010).