Hello friend! I'm back to share more of my tips on the process of decluttering (and yes, it can be a loooooong process!). If you're considering or currently tackling a home declutter, you'll want to read this post.
We all know decluttering is the way to a more organized and harmonious living space, but it's so easy to get sidetracked and give up. What stands in the way of us achieving what we know is good for us? The following are common obstacles to decluttering and tips for overcoming them. Let's dive in:
"But what if I need it again?" It's natural to worry that you may let go of something that you'll actually use again down the line, but it can end up keeping you stuck with too much stuff. There's always a possibility that you might reach for something again that you decluttered, but are you willing to hold onto it if that next use is twenty years later? And by then, will it still be the right thing for your purposes? Not likely. My rule of thumb is if I haven't found a need for the thing in the last three months, I'm not likely to need it again and am better off donating or selling it so that someone else might get use out of it instead. Or, if I'm really on the fence about something, I will put it in a bag by the door and revisit it in a couple of weeks; if the item doesn't cross my mind in that span of time, I feel more ready to part with it.
"But I paid $$$ for it!" We can all get caught up the sunk-cost thinking. It feels like a waste to let something go that we paid good money for. But try to think of the cost associated with keeping that item: the cost of space needed to store it, the cost of your mental energy trying to figure out what to do with it, or the cost of your sense of peace in a cluttered home. All of these things have value too, and when you consider them, you can be more honest with yourself about whether it's really worth it to keep the item.
"But it was a gift from so-and-so!" We tend to get sentimental about items given to us by people in our lives that we love. Even if the gift isn't useful to us, we feel guilty about parting with it because we attach all the great feelings associated with our feeling about that person, to the thing. However, we can appreciate the thought put into a gift without hanging onto the gift itself! I find it helps to take a picture of the item; that way I can still come back to it and all the memories it brings without needing to find room to store it.
I hope you find some help in this post to stay true to your goal! It can be difficult to let go, but remember why you are doing it and stay focused on achieving a space that feels comfortable and stress-free.