It’s that time of the year when people are cleaning out their garages and attics, getting rid of old stuff, donating, purging. Our household is currently doing the 30-Day Minimalism Game.
Here are some thoughts I have on getting rid of things. The title is inspired by The Cult of Done Manifesto.
10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
Use these to determine if a thing must be GONE:
1 – Have I actually used this in the past year? 3 years? 5 years?
2 – Will I ever use this again?
3 – Is it worth anything beyond utilitarian value (for example, is it sentimental, an award, a trophy)?
4 – Is it mass-produced and inexpensive? If I do need this item in the future, could I get another one exactly like it cheaply and easily?
5 – If I get rid of it, will I even remember I had it?
6 – If I didn’t already have it, would I go out right now and buy it again?
7 – Is this a “fix it” project that has been around for years with zero progress? Will I really use it, even if I get around to fixing it?
8 – Is this something I only store in boxes and never even see / use / experience? (My mom contributed this one!)
9 – Do I want to carry it around (again) the next time I move?
10 – Would my friend or neighbor be happy to put it to immediate use?
Rules of Thumb / Tricks:
If you buy something, get rid of something else of equal mass.
Just because you like something, doesn’t mean you need to have it in your house.
Nothing should be stored / stacked on the sides of the room on the floor / in the garage. That’s an immediate sign you have too much.
Books, magazines, blu-rays, etc. must be in bookcases or on shelves. If they don’t fit in the shelves, they go.
If you collect something old and specific, that’s cool. I like the smell of old vinyl records and old Famous Monster magazines. But I don’t need hundreds of them. If you never take them out of the storage box and never experience them (and probably never will) seriously consider getting rid of most of them.
If you have mass-produced clothing that hasn’t fit you in 2, 3, 5, 10 years, donate it. If you lose weight and need clothes that fit later, deal with it then.
REDUCE FRICTION
Things don’t want to be gone. They want to be stacked. We need to stop them from stacking. Here are some suggestions.
Finding people to take your cheap things can often take too much energy and slow down the purging process. No one is desperate for 5-years-old People Magazine or hair metal CDs. Most mass-produced goods can just be recycled or trashed. You’re not depriving anyone of happiness.
Don’t come up with reasons you need to think it over some more (like, I need to figure out how much it’s worth, someone I know might somehow be able to use it, it can be repurposed for containing all my other smaller junk, etc.) Chances are, these are excuses.
Price items really low, if they cost you $100 or less. Sell them for $5, $10. A little bit of cash is nice, and you don’t want getting rid of things to be your full-time job.
If something was $500-ish, and it’s near-mint condition (never used or only used once), sell it for $250 or $350. Discount the heck out of things. It’s not worth all the tension to try to get your money back. Again, “what it’s worth” can be an excuse for stacking junk indefinitely.
Selling 10 individual Blu-Rays on eBay is probably going to make you $20 – $30 (if you’re lucky), and it’ll take you multiple trips to the post office, weighing packages, printing postage. All that time adds up. It might be easier to make that money doing something else.
Technology decreases in value rapidly. After 5 years a computer has lost almost all value. Just give it to someone if they’ll take it.
To cut down on dealing with multiple people: when you have a batch of items (stack of books, magazines, CDs) say that they’re FREE, but they have to take ALL of them right then. What they do with them is their problem.
When in doubt, just take everything to Goodwill or whatever thrift store will take them with zero hassle.
The Minimalists suggest donating, recycling, or selling. But sometimes the landfill is the answer. Don’t feel guilty — everything is going there eventually.
Most importantly, STOP BUYING STUFF!
After my recent move, this hits home. We have been purging a bit at a time pretty consistently since, but a much greater purge is coming. I don’t want to end up on an episode of “Hoarders.”