You look around your space and you know you have too much “stuff.” But it all seems important to you. After all, you either bought it or it was a gift.
How do you go about making the decision of what goes and what stays?
Look at your motivation. Why are you considering getting rid of this “stuff” at this time at all? Are you moving? Do you want to entertain? Do you want clear open floor space? Are you just tired of all this stuff? Your motivation will help you with making decisions.
Form a vision of you space without all of the clutter. Feel yourself in this space.
Sort all of your “stuff” in the zone you want to tackle. Put all like items together. One way to sort is by function. How many objects do you have to hold beverages? How many vases do you have? How many staplers or scissors do you own? how many black slacks do you own?
Pick a number. When you see a lot of objects that have the same job, it’s easier to let some go. Decide what is a real number for you of how much you want/need. I want 4 juice glasses, 8 water goblets, 8 mugs, etc.
Prioritize the items in the groups. Which ones give you the most pleasure? Which ones do you love? Which ones are you keeping just because someone gave it to you? Which ones are you keeping just because they have been around forever?
Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that would happen if I let something go and wanted it later?” Imagine that you got rid of 100 items and later you had to go out and purchase 2 of them again – aren’t you really ahead of the game?
Remind yourself that if you hold on to things that you are not using/wanting/loving, you are keeping those things from others who really do need them or want them.
“There are three approaches we can take toward our possessions: face them now, face them sometime, or avoid them until the day we die. The choice is ours.” ~ Marie Kondo
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer