If you are holding onto something for any of the following reasons, I suggest you take me up on this shoot your stuff mini-mission.
- I keep my _____________ because it brings back certain memories.
- I can’t get rid of this because ___________ gave it to me, and I don’t want to hurt her/his feelings.
- I’m not going to let go of ____________ because it might be worth something some day.
As you are in your clearing the clutter process, the toughest items to clear are often the ones that fit into the above statements.It’s likely, that the things that mean something to you, are stored in a box, where you can’t see them. They might be in your home, but behind glass or put on a shelf, collecting dust. What if there was a better way to preserve your memories, without cluttering your home?
The gifts you’ve received, that didn’t fit into your lifestyle, are in your garage, a box, or somewhere else not being useful or enjoyed. As far as your stuff being worth something some day, the immediate value you will get by making space and time for yourself today, far outweighs any monetary gain in the future.
Here’s your mini-mission – Shoot your stuff. Every time you find something that seems hard to let go of, shoot it. Take a digital image and store it in a folder on your computer, or an external hard drive. Then, donate or sell the item. If you aren’t quite ready to let it go, put all the items that you photographed together in a box and tape it shut. I’ll let you know what to next in an upcoming post. This idea will let you better appreciate the memories without the clutter.
Learn more about mini-missions here.
For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.