The Ultimate Guide To Decluttering Part 4: To Keep Or Not To Keep?

After reading part 3 of our Ultimate Guide To Decluttering, you now know your daily action steps to start decluttering your home.

So, in this part, we’ll be helping you with an important process that many people get wrong with tidying their homes...deciding what to keep, and what to throw away!

We get it, decluttering isn’t easy; it’s all about making hard decisions to throw away items you don’t use anymore. That includes items with some level of value attached to them.

When you’re clearing stuff out, there will be items that your brain will tell you to keep, even if you do not need them anymore. Perhaps, you spent a lot of money on it, or you’ve grown attached to it.

When you get into these situations, remember; you need the space in your home for mental clarity, and if you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t use it at all!

Now that we’ve looked at some of the psychology, it’s time to look at the steps to take to decide whether to keep, donate, or throw away your items:

Step 1: Question Yourself About The Item

Ask yourself the following questions to understand if you need the item or not.

• “Have you used this in the past year?”
• “If not, will it be used in the near future?”
• “Would I prefer this item or the space it is taking up?”
• “Does it fit my style, space, needs, etc?”

These questions will help you think more logically about the item you are thinking of throwing away.

Step 2: Notice The Emotional Reactions

The sentimental, monetary and other values attached to this item will show up at this stage. Notice these emotions, so you know why you’re struggling to get rid of it. Then, it’s time to judge this emotional reasoning and see whether it has any real grounding in logic.

Step 3: Analyse The Reaction

Why are you feeling sentimental? Is it because this item was a gift from a late relative? Then, of course, keep the item! But, if you are feeling sentimental about an item that has no real value, and no place in your home, then it’s time to either throw it away or donate it to someone else.

It’s that simple! Just stick to this process and remember to keep an eye on those emotions. When you know the emotional reason behind keeping your items, decluttering goes from tough to relatively easy!

Stay tuned for the next part of our guide, where we will be going into more decluttering tips for specific rooms in your home.

Best of luck with your tidying!