Questions To Ask Yourself When Decluttering

It's estimated the average American household contains over 300,000 items. We continually bring things through the front door. But most of us haven't developed habits of letting go of things we no longer use. As a result, the stuff keeps accumulating and inevitably begins to have a negative impact on our lives. If you're ready to declutter and let go of the excess but don't know how to decide what to keep and what to let go of, some simple questions to ask yourself may be helpful. The following is a list of questions that will inform your decision-making as you seek to let go of what you no longer use or love.

• 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

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