I’m a little bit of a minimalistic hoarder, I like the idea of paring down all possessions but have pack rat tendencies.
On the other hand, I love the excitement of finding a good deal or just the feeling of buying something new. I truly believe we should enact this system every time I order something online or bring something home from the store. After I go to sleep that night, Megan sends it back or puts it in her car to return it. If I ask about it the next day or within the week, I can reorder it. If not, I got the purchasing hit, my money back, and less junk in the home.
There is definitely some family history that may predispose me toward a life of collecting. I always appreciated my grandma’s house filled with her garage sale and auction finds and having a narrow trail through the treasures seemed normal to me. Photographs inside her home were prohibited, but here is our last photo together when she was living with my aunt.
I recently listened to the audiobook Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki in hopes of finding encouragement to tackle a purge of things.
There are several hold ups to letting go of things. I have listed a few thoughts I have and tried to highlight a rule from the book (in italics) that sort of lines up with my thinking.
1. I might need this someday.
The truth is when I need something I will order it. It is unlikely that I will search the drawers for some old dumb cord. Well, I might search, but I am unlikely to have something squirrelled away that is actually useful. However, Megan can attest to the time I pulled out the perfect little box to ship something. You’re welcome.
It might be a fun game to order something I am needing from Amazon immediately and see if I can find it before it arrives.
Let go of the idea of the “someday.”
2. I hate to throw it away something that could still be useful or donate something that I feel has resale value.
I still see possible value in items that even donation centers would likely discard. The few times I have overcome this feeling of needing to get some value rather than donating has actually been liberating. Occasionally, I do actually sell things on Ebay, but overall the items rot in the closet instead of the landfill. I believe Maggie on Inside Out Money referenced that your home doesn’t need to act like the landfill. That sort of helped my brain. It’s already trash, the best thing you can do is try and find a new home for it.
Discarding things can be wasteful. But the guilt that keeps you from minimizing is the true waste.
Let go of the idea of getting your money’s worth.
3. On a small scale, putting something in a box or bin first has worked.
By pulling stuff out of the drawer and into a possible donation box, it makes the transition out the door smoother. Most often this works with t-shirts. Day after day, I will skip over a t-shirt and mentally declare why I don’t want to wear that shirt. It’s a workout shirt or it’s too tight in the sleeves or I don’t want to workout in that, it’s a ‘good t-shirt’ or I’m going to wear that shirt during some special time. I need rules around t-shirts. Usually the only rule is if the deodorant has caused discoloration in the armpit area then it is time to go.
Say “see you later” before you say goodbye.
4. I have the space for it, so why not keep it?
Looking up at the top of the kitchen cabinets, I see 3 beer growlers. There is less than a 1% chance that I will ever fill them with beer ever again. They have not been touched in years. Although coincidentally during the last ice storm a few weeks ago we filled them with water just in case. Maybe the freedom of things really can free up some mental space?
If you lost it, would you buy it again?
There are limits to the capacity of your brain, your energy, and your
time.
5. What would I pack if we were living out of an RV for a few months?
I find this thought exercise interesting. This could be any travel for a few months where you would have extremely limited space. What are the clothing items I would grab first? Those are likely the things I should keep and be wearing and let the rest go.
What if you started from scratch?
Other rules I enjoy.
If you lost it, would you buy it again? This exact one? The answer is probably no for a lot of things.
Think of buying as renting.
It’s not permanently my item. I buy it, use it, return it back to the world rental store at large.
Discarding memorabilia is not the same as discarding memories.
Despite what my mother and my mother’s mother might have me believe, memories do not live in items. Pictures of items can work as well and are more readily available.
Discard the things you have already forgotten about.
I guess if I didn’t know I had it and wouldn’t buy it at the moment I found it, I don’t need it.
Say goodbye to who you used to be.
This is a good one. There are things I hold on to thinking I’ll come back to this. My biggest win from a few years ago was selling my camera and acknowledging I am not a photographer and that’s okay.
Disagree with…
There’s no need to stock up. False. If I can save $6 on something I know I’m going to need in a few months and it won’t be in the way, I will stock up. I don’t think having extra toilet paper takes away my zen in the bathroom. If anything, it provides an extra level of relaxation and elimination of any previous TP trauma.