What if I need it after I throw it out?
What if I find the match?
What if someone I know needs it?
What if I forget what it meant to me?
Any of that sound familiar? Yeah, does to me as well. These are the questions I find end up leading to clutter. Just because you have something that may be useful does not inherently make it useful. Having stacks of magazines and books does not inherently mean you will find the time to read every one of them. Lately, I’ve been working to clear out either what I’ve already read, or, what I’ve had sitting around for long periods of time waiting to read. At some point I have to be honest about whether I’ll get around to reading a magazine from 2011. Having stacks of clothes does not inherently mean I will wear them. I only have one body. I have been getting a lot better about letting go of clothes that I do not wear, whether they’re new or not, whether I like them or not. If I don’t wear them, why keep them.
Sure, there are times when I keep things around in case I need them. My wife likes to give me grief about my ‘box of wires’. I actually use them though. Sure, they aren’t the nicest thing to keep around, but as our son gets older and more involved in the Hacker/Maker movement, they continue to be used. This has answered the ‘what if’ question for that small collection.
Over time I expect to be able to change my attitude towards what if’s. I expect to fix my attachment to keeping things around ‘just in case’. Maybe even so much that I’ll ask myself ‘what if I keep this, will it just add clutter?’
Written 25-Nov-2013; still working to minimize ‘things’ in my life