When organizing your "stuff" - how do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of??

Question

What questions do you ask yourself to help you decide?

Any ideas on parting with sentimental items no other family members want??

Answer 1

I try to forget the logic "I might use it for this...... I might need it for this...." and think "I havn't used this in how long?.... It's broken and I'll never repair it.....right now it's more important to simplify and if I ever do need this at any point in time -which I likely never will- I'll go buy a new one."

Answer 2

Anything like clothing, accessories, music and stuff from last season goes straight into the bin.

Answer 3

There are only three reasons to keep something.

--You need it for future reference

--you use it on a regular basis or seasonally

--it is a treasured item and has special memories

On my website www.organization-makes-sense.com I have a listed a variety of questions that you can ask to determine what to keep and what to give away.  Too many to list here.

For family treasures that will not last over time I would suggest taking pictures of them and storing the picture .  You might want to write a little journal as to the meaning of this item and why it is special to you.  But it can hardly be a family treasure if nobody wants it?!  

Since the sentimental items have meaning to you only  you can create a special recorded archive for the item but you do not need to keep the actual item.

Answer 4

I do three piles "Keep It" "Toss It" & "Donate It" In the end at least half of the stuff should be gone. Chances are if your family doesn't want it now, they won't want it later so unless it is very special to you don't keep it. Lots of luck!  I don't envy you!

Answer 5

I've always heard the general rule is, if you haven't used it in a year, chunk it.