海角大神

As you go through the de-cluttering process, you鈥檙e going to find things that you鈥檙e simply unsure about. Should you keep it? Should you get rid of it? It鈥檚 not something聽essential鈥� but you can certainly see yourself using it again.

What should you do with it?

Quite often, people end up putting items like this right back where they found them. They can鈥檛 talk themselves into getting rid of this item that they鈥檝e rarely used, but there鈥檚 some sort of redeeming value to it. Maybe it鈥檚 a movie that you used to really like. Maybe it鈥檚 something that reminds you, for some reason, of a happy time in your life.

Whatever it is, it鈥檚 just enough attachment to convince you to keep something that you really shouldn鈥檛 be keeping.

I learned this the hard way. The first time I purged our DVD collection, I wound up saving a lot of DVDs because I really liked the movie. What I realized over time was that, even though I really liked the movie,聽I simply wasn鈥檛 putting the DVD into the DVD player.

The solution to all of this was simple.聽I just put all of these marginal items 鈥� DVDs and other things 鈥� into a box and put a 鈥渟ell by鈥� date on the box.

It鈥檚 pretty easy, really. Just pick a date six or twelve months into the future and write 鈥淪ell By:鈥� followed by that date on the side of the box.

Over the next six or twelve months, if you find yourself actually wanting an item that鈥檚 in the box, dig it out and don鈥檛 put it back. The item has shown itself to be useful enough to you for you to use it.

If half a year or a full year has passed and you haven鈥檛 touched some of the items in that box, there鈥檚 no surer sign that you should simply get rid of the items. Sell them, donate them, give them away 鈥� they really don鈥檛 need to be taking up your space.

Whenever we do a big 鈥渟pring cleaning鈥� or 鈥渇all cleaning,鈥� I often find myself creating a 鈥渟ell by鈥� box. I鈥檒l come across an item, think 鈥淗m鈥� that鈥檚 cool, but I don鈥檛 use it much,鈥� and then toss it into that box.

Most of the time, I never pull anything out of that box.聽The items in there really don鈥檛 fill any role in my life. The only reason I didn鈥檛 get rid of the item the first time is pure sentiment, and sentiment is an emotion you can keep whether you have that item or not.

Clear out your clutter. If you鈥檙e unsure, put it in a 鈥渟ell by鈥� box. When that date comes, sell whatever is left in the box without worries.

This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap,鈥� which is available聽at Amazon聽and at bookstores everywhere. Images courtesy of聽Brittany Lynne Photography, the proprietor of which is my聽鈥減hotography intern鈥� for this project.