De-Cluttering Session 1 – Part II
De-Cluttering Tip: Take All Your Clothing Out to See What You Have
I have made lists of my clothing before to evaluate how much I have and how much to keep. However, I don’t feel that they are effective to me as I am a very visual person. So, I have decided that the best way to approach it is to take out all the clothing from my closets and bins and edit from there. I will be doing one closet at a time. I also need to do this for my fabrics and trims as I have a lot of them for sewing projects.
Today, I am doing my main closet and one bin of fabric, then putting back only the items that I absolutely love and will wear. I realize that I end up wearing stuff I mildly like and saving the ones I love. I think that it is connected with my anxiety about my future, and not knowing if I will find a job or a successful career. Here’s the gist of a conversation with my ever-practical husband that helped me easy my anxiety about my stuff and the future.
Me: If I discard most of my stuff, I may not find a job or make enough money in the future again to get them.
Husband: If you don’t find a job or make enough money, you will be a housewife, and not require all of those clothes, shoes and bags.
Me: I would not be happy just being a housewife for too long. I would want to work, and I would need these items to find and retain a job.
Husband: You only need 2 interview suits and a two week’s worth of clothing to hold you out until you make money in your job to get additional items if you need them.
Me: But, I wouldn’t want to spend the money I earn. I need to save.
Husband: You waste time and money by all the time you spend organizing and taking care of your stuff. Not to mention, if we move, it will cost more to move the items.
Me: But, I am wasting money by discarding/donating these items.
Husband: You have already wasted money on the items. It is a sunk cost because you cannot get the money back. Even to eBay, you spend a few hours listing stuff, and they often don’t get sold or are not worth an hour of work to list and ship.
Well, there you have it. Sometimes talking to someone about why you save things can debunk your own logic (or illogical thinking) and help you see clearly. The reasoning about keeping things for the future is flawed. Only keep things that you will actually use in the next year or 6 months if you live somewhere there aren’t 4 seasons like New York.
Now, off I go to eat, and then mercilessly minimize my first closet.
De-Cluttering Tip: Take All Your Clothing Out to See What You Have
I have made lists of my clothing before to evaluate how much I have and how much to keep. However, I don’t feel that they are effective to me as I am a very visual person. So, I have decided that the best way to approach it is to take out all the clothing from my closets and bins and edit from there. I will be doing one closet at a time. I also need to do this for my fabrics and trims as I have a lot of them for sewing projects.
Today, I am doing my main closet and one bin of fabric, then putting back only the items that I absolutely love and will wear. I realize that I end up wearing stuff I mildly like and saving the ones I love. I think that it is connected with my anxiety about my future, and not knowing if I will find a job or a successful career. Here’s the gist of a conversation with my ever-practical husband that helped me easy my anxiety about my stuff and the future.
Me: If I discard most of my stuff, I may not find a job or make enough money in the future again to get them.
Husband: If you don’t find a job or make enough money, you will be a housewife, and not require all of those clothes, shoes and bags.
Me: I would not be happy just being a housewife for too long. I would want to work, and I would need these items to find and retain a job.
Husband: You only need 2 interview suits and a two week’s worth of clothing to hold you out until you make money in your job to get additional items if you need them.
Me: But, I wouldn’t want to spend the money I earn. I need to save.
Husband: You waste time and money by all the time you spend organizing and taking care of your stuff. Not to mention, if we move, it will cost more to move the items.
Me: But, I am wasting money by discarding/donating these items.
Husband: You have already wasted money on the items. It is a sunk cost because you cannot get the money back. Even to eBay, you spend a few hours listing stuff, and they often don’t get sold or are not worth an hour of work to list and ship.
Well, there you have it. Sometimes talking to someone about why you save things can debunk your own logic (or illogical thinking) and help you see clearly. The reasoning about keeping things for the future is flawed. Only keep things that you will actually use in the next year or 6 months if you live somewhere there aren’t 4 seasons like New York.
Now, off I go to eat, and then mercilessly minimize my first closet.
No comments:
Post a Comment