How to Declutter Things You Might Use One Day
Ever feel like you are not in control of your own house? You are not alone. We are all trying to manage so much extra stuff: books we will never read, shoes we will never wear, or products we will never finish. We keep all those things because we feel like we may need them later. Let’s get to the bottom of how to declutter “things you might use one day”.
We may put things away for three reasons. One: we plan to use them when we have time - after retiring, for example. Truth is, that never happens: something always comes up, and there is never too much extra time. Two: everyone does that, that is just what happens. And three: we do not want to be wasteful and get rid of unused things.
This all makes sense, but we fail to consider the toll that managing all the stuff takes on us: we are constantly organizing instead of enjoying our house and our time with our families.
So how do we let go of things and declutter? We use the past as a predictor of the future. First, how much time are you spending on it now? How many hours' worth of supplies have you accumulated?
Second, look at the people you know who have reached the stage that you are waiting for - do they have that much free time? Third, plan out what you will use in the next year; you do not need more than that.
We could get down on ourselves and feel ashamed for wasting money on things we do not use, or we could accept that our expectations were incorrect, and get rid of those things.
How to declutter things you might use one day
When we declutter, our house suddenly becomes a place of joy, not a burden, and cleaning it becomes easy and fun.
For more decluttering advice, discover these 13 signs you have too much stuff (and what to do about it) or these 10 big decluttering mistakes to avoid.
To see more videos, check out The Minimal Mom YouTube channel.
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I use the 12 month rule in my closets. Also I periodically go through and ask myself if I would buy it today. I feel so much better after purging and dropping off clothes at donation spots.