You Don't Need So Many Things

Don't wait until the next time you move to decide it's time to declutter.

No, I haven’t taken inventory of your closet, and no, I don’t know how many boxes you have stuffed under your bed, and I certainly don’t know what all is in your junk drawer in the corner of the kitchen. If I may be so bold, I don’t think I need to take even a glance in your space to know that you could probably have fewer things and be as happy as you are now. In fact, I think you would be even happier.

Recently, I’ve been going through the process of moving apartments. I’ve moved just about every year for the last four years, and every time I do it, I remember how much I dislike it. Yet, the one other consistent truth is how moving forces me to take stock of my material possessions. Every time, I’ve become more ruthless in what I deem no longer valuable to me, and every time, it’s more freeing. Even if you don’t think you have too many things, I encourage you to read on, because I think just about all of us in our culture have a problem with possessions.

Now, I’m no Marie Kondo, but today I want to share a few questions I’ve found are helpful to ask myself when deciding what to keep, donate, and throw away.

1) Is this thing useful to me right now or in the very near future?

Seems obvious, but I think we can miss this one. If you’re like my family, we have a tendency to keep things that may be potentially useful at some point in the hypothetical future… occasionally, we’re glad we kept something, but usually we just end up with drawers and boxes full of items we don’t even know we have. If it’s not useful to you right now, can you name a specific time in the near future where you know it will be useful? If so, it’s probably worth keeping. If not, you’ll just be carrying inventory, and you’re not a warehouse. For example, when I got close to moving out, I started to keep sturdy boxes from delivered packages because I knew they would come in handy when packing. But, when I was still a year away from moving, I didn’t collect every box that showed up because it wasn’t worth the space they’d take up in my apartment.

2) Does owning this thing bring me joy?

Just because something isn’t tangibly useful like a skillet or a vacuum cleaner doesn’t mean we should throw it out. Pictures on the walls, bookshelves, plants, and other things we keep because we enjoy looking at them or we think they’re cool is perfectly justifiable. It’s not anyone else’s place to tell you what should or should not bring you joy, either. Just be honest with yourself!

3) Would this thing be more useful or appreciated by someone else than me?

As I was cleaning out my closet, I found a pair of jeans I hadn’t worn in over a year, but I was still hanging on to them in case I would wear them again sometime next year. But, as I thought about it, I knew my sister would wear them more often than I would (having a sister is great for a lot of reasons and sharing clothes is one of them). Why should I hoard them in my closet, just taking up space, when they would be a favorite, often-worn item in someone else’s closet? If you’re the type of person who gets emotionally attached to items, it can be helpful to know that what you’re giving away can be a well-loved item by someone else, too.

Whether you’re moving soon or you have a new-found desire to do some decluttering, I hope you can learn to zoom out and look at the big picture of why we own things at all; our things are supposed to make our lives better, and having more things doesn’t necessarily accomplish that purpose. Good luck in your efforts, and maybe I’ll run into you at the Goodwill donation center.

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Journal Prompt of the Week

Do you struggle to get rid of things you don’t need? What is your relationship with your material possessions?