Five Items You Shouldn’t Save

We’ve spent hours and hours helping people declutter. There are number of reasons why our clients want to declutter:

• They’ve got so much stuff they’ve run out of space
• They’re downsizing
• They’ve lost enjoyment in their home; it’s no longer relaxing to be at home amongst all the accumulated stuff

Here’s the first part of our list of things you shouldn’t save.

1.    If you’ve lost half of a pair of shoes, then dispose of the remaining half. You might keep the unpaired shoe for a little while, – a week or so – just to see if the missing shoe will turn up. But when it doesn’t, get rid of the shoe. At one of our client’s home we found 37 unpaired shoes.
2.    If an item is broken and cannot be repaired, dispose of it. Don’t put a note on it that reads “broken” and then store it. Storing it will not make it magically repair itself. It’s just taking up storage space needlessly.
3.    If a fry pan has a hole in it, it can no longer be used. The end. No reprieve. No miracle uses. Dispose of it.
4.    There are lots of disincentives now to using plastic grocery bags. Some stores now charge for each bag, some encourage you to switch to reusable bags by selling them inexpensively. The best habit to get into is to not use these bags. But, if you do need to use them, then remember to take them back to the grocery store for recycling. Don’t store them.
5.    Books. This might be a controversial item for some. For many of our clients books are a “clutter” item because they are all over their home, not neatly stored on shelves. If your books are not being read, pass them on to someone who will enjoy them.

What are you storing?