Questions To Ask Yourself When Decluttering

• When was the last time I used it?

• How often do I use it?

• If I hadn't seen it just now, would I have missed it?

• Does it currently fit me?

• If I'm not actively using it, can I let it go?

• Is there something else I'm already using that serves the same purpose?

• Is keeping it worth using up living space?

• If I let it go and find I need it in the future, would I be able to replace it easily?

• If I'm not actively using it, might someone else benefit from it if I let it go?

• Could I take a photo of it instead of keeping the physical item?

• If negative emotions are associated with it, might I be better off letting it go?

• Could I keep just one or two items out of the lot as representative of the rest?

• Could I let go of greeting cards if they don't have meaningful, personal, hand-written messages inside?

• Might I let go of appliance manuals if I can find them on-line and download copies onto my computer for future reference?

• Could I scan my photos and create digital albums so they're taking up less space in my home?

• Am I in a different season of life now and can let go of the old stuff from past seasons?

• Would letting go of items associated with past difficult relationships be a good idea in order to create a positive outlook going forward?

• Does it encourage me and make me happy when I see it? Or does it cause negative emotions and weigh me down?

• When it was given to me as a gift, didn't it become mine to do with whatever is best for ME?

• Despite it having cost a lot of money, is it serving me and being useful to me?

• What would I lose by letting it go? And what would I GAIN?

• It might be useful, but is it useful to ME right now?

• Am I saving it for someone who probably won't value it the way I do?

• Am I keeping it because of the memories associated with it even though the memories are inside of me and not actually in the thing?

By Krista Reimer