The Causes of Clutter: But What If I Need It?

People have clutter for so many reasons. One of the top reasons is a fear of not having something you might need.  We keep our china even though we have never used it because we may have that dinner party someday.  We keep our ski coats and snowboards even though we haven’t hit the slopes in decades. We store old baby clothes and toys when our kids are teenagers.  We keep packets of soy sauce and utensil sets from take-out Chinese.  We have 10 different vases even though we never buy fresh flowers.

Clutter can take over our lives and our homes.  It can suck the energy out of every room.  White space and clear counters give us room to breathe.  If your question to me is, “But what if I need it?”, then my response to you is, “You probably don’t.”

Here are three test questions for every item you are pondering over:

1.       Do you have a plan to use it right now?

2.       When was the last time you used it?

3.       What will you gain from purging it? Space? Simplicity?

4.       Will you benefit more from keeping it or getting rid of it?