BEFORE GETTING RID OF YOUR CLUTTER ASK THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

 

Did you realize there are important questions you should ask before getting rid of your clutter?

The other day I was reading this article on minimalism and decluttering. The Author was saying how he’d decluttered the vast majority of his possessions and that there was not one thing he had gotten rid of that he later regretted.

Let me just confess that I cannot say the same is true in my decluttering journey.  I have gotten rid of things and regretted it.  But it’s rare!

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 I remember shortly after I decluttered our Pizza Stone I got into making homemade pizza and had to buy a new one.

Now did I absolutely NEED a pizza stone to make pizza – NO. Did I make pizza with the baking pans on hand before I purchased a new Pizza Stone – Yes! But you know what I like having the stone. It does make a difference in the way the Pizza cooks. Plus I use it weekly. (By the way, if you’re looking for a great easy pizza sauce recipe, this one is my favorite).

But here’s the thing I had a brief moment of “oh darn why did I get rid of that”, however it was short-lived because I knew at the time it was the right thing to do.

Questions to Ask BEFORE Getting Rid of Your Clutter

I’m telling you this because decluttering is a difficult task. Far too often we allow our fear of making a mistake or of getting rid of something we might need later to keep us in a cluttered mess. The reality is we have so much more to lose by hanging onto things we don’t need. They steal our time, our money, and our feelings of peace.

Look occasionally we find out we decluttered something we wish we hadn’t. But even when that happens it’s really not that big of a deal.  You’ll never truly be able to simplify your home or life without letting go of your attachment to your stuff.  I know that’s easy for me to say, and much harder to do.

To make it a little easier, there are a series of questions that you can ask yourself before getting rid of your clutter. These questions are designed to help you avoid getting rid of something you might later regret.

They are not full-proof, but they will help you to stop holding onto your clutter out of guilt,  obligation, or fear. Instead, you’ll be able to let go of your clutter with confidence.

Here are 7 questions to ask yourself before getting rid of your clutter.

1. Have I Used This Item in the Past Year?

This is a very helpful question to ask before getting rid of your clutter. Our homes end up becoming storage facilities when we keep items that we simply don’t use. If you’re holding onto things you haven’t used in the past year, ask yourself why you’re keeping it? It’s taking up your time and space. It’s contributing to your clutter and increasing your stress levels. Is keeping the item worth all of that?

Even if you find that you need to use that item, you can always seek to borrow from a friend or it’s okay to go out and repurchase it if you need to.  I promise in the long run that is a cheaper alternative than keeping, maintaining and taking up precious storage space for something so rarely used.

That was the thing with the Pizza Stone I mentioned in the introduction. At the time I got rid of that item, I really had not used it. It was actually given to me as a gift and was just taking up precious storage space in my kitchen.

Later when I decided I wanted to try my hand a making homemade pizza the truth is I did have other items that did the job just fine. It was only after making homemade pizza became a regular thing that I went out and repurchased the item.

2. Would I Buy This Item Again?

When sorting through your stuff, asking yourself whether you would buy the item again can be very helpful. Your answer to this question is very telling. If you answer no, that you would not buy it again, that tells you in no uncertain terms the item is not something you love. Nor is it something that significantly improves your life. If that’s the case what are you keeping it for?

Everything in your home takes up some amount of your time and resources. Do you really want to spend your time on things you neither love nor add value to your life? It’s time to let go of these items.

Plus, you know this item is not something you’re going to have a strong regret about letting go of. Actually, I will tell you that if you are struggling to let this go it’s because of fear.

We often hold onto things we should let go of because we’re afraid we might need it later. Another source of our fear arises out of obligation. We feel obligated to keep something because it was a gift or we spent money on it. Both of these options are based on guilt. Guilt is a negative emotion you don’t need in your life.

If you wouldn’t choose to pay money to bring this item into your home today, then it’s time to let it go.

3. Would I Keep This Item If I Were Moving?

We all have a tendency to re-evaluate our stuff during a move. For me, much of my decluttering journey came through a series of two very stressful moves. So this is an important question to ask before getting rid of your clutter as you’ll evaluate how important something is to you.

Packing up and moving takes a ton of work. Generally, the last thing we want to do is take the time and energy to pack up a bunch of stuff we really don’t care about. And we certainly don’t want to transfer it to our new place.

So by really thinking through your answer to this question you can evaluate how much an item means to you. If it’s not an item you would keep if you were moving there is no justification for keeping it now.

4. Is This Item Worth Repairing?

Before getting rid of your clutter, decide if it’s worth repairing. This is a good question because when you start to declutter the deep stuff it’s not uncommon to come across items that you do love or are super useful to your daily life. The problem is these items were stuck in the back of the closet because they’re not working or need to be repaired.

Some items are absolutely worth repairing. Sometimes they get stuck in the back of the closet because we just haven’t gotten around to it or even forgot.

However, there are other items that meant something to us and we really want to repair them, but they’re just not worth it. If that is the case there really is no point in holding onto the item.

If you decide that the item is, in fact, worth repairing, I encourage you to take care of that now. Do not place the item back in the same spot. Stop your decluttering efforts and make arrangements now for the repair of the item.

5. Before Getting Rid of Your Clutter, Ask “Do I Own Something Similar”?

It’s very easy to end up with duplicate items. I also think it’s fairly easy to declutter these items. If you come across duplicates while decluttering, simply pick the best one and get rid of the rest.

However, the problem arises when we have items that are not necessarily duplicates, but are similar or perform the same function. Because they’re not exactly duplicates, it can be hard to figure out whether you should get rid of the items.

Stopping to ask yourself whether you own something similar will help you decide the value of keeping that item.

For instance, I have a toaster oven that we use on the daily, especially in the summer. I keep it because it allows me to bake things without heating up the house in the midst of summer. I can also keep food warm until it’s ready to eat. Plus of course, make toast.

Because all I really need is this one item I got rid of my countertop toaster and electric warming plate.

If you have multi-function items that will do a similar job to the single-use items, get rid of the single-use items.

6. Could Someone Use This Item More Than Me

This is my favorite question to ask when I’m decluttering hard things. Especially when it’s something that I spent a good amount of money on or something that was a gift.

When we spend a lot of money or receive a gift we have no use for it’s hard to let go of those items.

Really, the reason is that we’re filling guilt or some type of obligation. But if there is someone you know that could truly use the item it’s almost selfish to hang onto it. Think about it, you’re holding on to this item for the sole purpose of it collecting dust when someone has a genuine need.

You don’t need to feel guilty about passing it on, you’re doing a good deed.

7. Is This Item Worth the Space it’s Taking Up?

For me, this is the ultimate question. Every possession you own takes up some amount of your space.

Recently, we moved out a large table and I can’t begin to tell you how much more relaxed and enjoyable the area is now that the table is gone. The table was not bad, and it was functional, however, in the end, it was not worth the space it was taking up. A smaller table serves us much better.

If you find that you have items in your home that do little more than take up space, the truth is they’re contributing to your clutter.

If you have items that you use maybe once a year for hosting or other annual events consider moving those items to the garage or on a top shelf to free up more useable space.

Really think through what items are taking up your space and whether they’re worth holding on to.

Asking yourself these questions before getting rid of your clutter will help keep your focus on creating a space that will allow room for what matters most. Asking yourself these seven questions will leave you with things that are truly meaningful and useful.