Three Things You Don’t Need That You Choose To Hold On To
Ever notice it’s easier to walk through someone else’s home and pick out “treasures” they could donate, throw out or sell?
It’s easy because we have no attachment to the items whatsoever. Someone could just as easily walk through our home and do the same. Granted there is a lot we could do without but sometimes there’s just no getting rid of somethings.
Today I’d love to hear about the things you know you don’t need yet happily hold on to.
Here are mine:
1. My first toy. It used to be a bunny but there’s no way you could tell that now. It was so well loved that now it’s an amorphous blob of material with a little lump of stuffing in what used to be its head.
2. Vases. I have a lot of vases. Do I need every one of them? Hell no! But I just can’t bring myself to part with any one of them and yes they take up quite a bit of space. Maybe one day.
3. Magazine clippings. When I flip through magazines I pull out pages that have great recipes, interesting decor, and craft projects. I keep them all in a file folder in my desk so they don’t take up much room. But every time I go through them to reduce my collection I can’t throw them out!
Okay your turn. What nick-knacks or otherwise useless items do you happily hold onto?
There are a lot of you reading and a lot of you who haven’t chimed in … come on people lurking in the background let me know I’m not alone here!
See also:
Decluttering Tips For Living The Simple Life
Disorganized? Blame It On The Universe!
Purge Just 7 Things – A Weekend Challenge
Photo courtesy of: cindiann
33 Responses to “Three Things You Don’t Need That You Choose To Hold On To”
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How did you know I was lurking in the back?… Just kidding, but yeah this is my first comment here, nice place by the way.
I tend to cling to a lot of stuff, for me it’s my RPG book collection. I have not used them in more than 5 years but I still have them, fortunately, I finally stopped buying new ones.
The other thing I can’t seem to get rid of is my old toys, I have some stuffed animals in the same state as your first toy, maybe I should repair them and donate them, I dunno.
I think that’s all but it sure gets in the way when you are trying to archive the 100 things challenge.
Alejandro Reyes´s last blog ..Meditation is for you…
We’ve traveled alot so I have little knick-knacks from all over. Each has a memory attached and brings a smile and happiness. Next would be books. I have a problem getting rid of books. Hanging head in shame.
autumnesf´s last blog ..How About A Christmas Giveaway?
Three thingsthat I could live without but choose not to? Hmm that’s a tough one. I’ve been decluttering so long that I really thnk I’m down to the bare necessities! OK< OK< not really. Here we go:
1.) Some books. I have a few more that I could get rid of, if i just had to. I've gotten rid of hundreds of books over the past couple of years, but i suppose I could part with a few more (sigh).
2.) Old toys: Mine, and my daughter's. Just like with the books, I've already gotten rid of 90% of them, but I guess I could part with the rest…maybe.
3.) Furniture. I have two couches. What single person needs two couches? I could easily get rid of one of those, plus a chair or two.
Jay Schryer´s last blog ..Paying It Forward
I’ve done a lot of purging lately, and man was it difficult. But the one thing I absolutely cannot get rid of is books, even ones I don’t like, haven’t read, will never pick up again. It’s a bad habit.
Coach J´s last blog ..Revenge of the Snow Day
When I purge things, I often live to regret it. That item I haven’t used in 9 years, once it’s gone… just a few weeks down the line, some situation seems to arise where that item would have been useful in some way. Then I have to spend the time, energy and money I could have saved had I not purged the item.
Coming out of lurkdom…but only because you hit a chord!
1. magazine clippings, stored (for the most part) neatly in file folder after file folder. It really is a disease!
2. Books (hundreds and hundreds) inherited from my father…he read every one,they are what he spent his life doing and I keep meaning to start reading them, really.
3. Skinny clothes, sigh!
I have lots of books in various rooms of the house that I need to get rid of. I go through them a couple times a year, but not many seem to disappear and more seem to creep in.
Marci@OvercomingBusy´s last blog ..Things Not Going As Planned?
1. Pots, pans, and cooking utensils that I don’t use often and don’t have room to store in the kitchen but I love them so I can’t force myself to get rid of them.
2. Cookbooks that I won’t use but you never know when I might need some inspiration.
3. Recipes that I collected for Home-Ec in 8th grade that I won’t use but it means too much to me to toss.
tabitha ´s last blog ..Losing My Religion
Okay , I have to confess I purge lots and purge often! If there is something I own and love but, don’t feel ready to donate blindly or discard I try to pass it along to someone I know that would use it. That said, I have a hard time with:
Cards, magazine clippings: I keep bunches for crafty rainy day art inspiration that I never seem to utilize.
Wooden things: If it made of wood and I can paint it I keep it around to create something new for my home or as a gift. Some things stay around a really long time though.
Art Portfolio: my art portfolio has things dating back to high school. I did purge some things last year but, it was really hard and I still hold on to way more then I need to.
Yay! So nice to meet some of you for the first time. Thank you for being so brave and for saying hello!
So we all seem to have a lot of books. That’s interesting because I think they are the most difficult item to part with. They don’t really ever wear out or stop working. They rarely go out of style or become irrelevant, so why get rid of them?
I totally agree. I have several books boxed up in storage waiting to go to the library. I keep them in the box for a few months to see if I really miss them, if I don’t then off they go without a second thought.
@ Willow – I hear you about getting rid of things only to need them a few weeks later! It never fails.
Wedding gifts! Particularly a hideous nativity, a hideous snow globe, and a set of bedding that neither of us like.
Baby blankets – my grandmother crocheted a couple of baby blankets for me. The yarn is cheap and the colors aren’t really my favorite. Nothing I would choose for my own baby, should I have one. But my grandmother passed away a couple of years ago, and I don’t have much from her. There’s a tremendous amount of guilt with the thought of getting rid of them.
And tickets/brochures from performances I’ve been in. None of them are particularly special, but I can’t seem to make myself ‘throw away’ that part of my life.
I have a book problem, too, but I have gotten rid of a lot. There are quite a few I won’t be able to part with!
I also have problems with sentimental paper items (including photos). I need to unclutter quite a bit of paper.
Clothes, I always can get rid off more clothes and yet, they always come back in fashion the next season.
However that might be an excuse, if I do not wear them, they should go. Hmmm.
Wilma Ham´s last blog ..Context is King.
I have never liked holding onto anything – I love space around me but books are my most precious belongings.
My aversion to stuff – and I love shoes and clothes – is because of my mother’s clutter-i-tis. The woman still has my navel string as a baby in a powdered capsule in her closet somewhere, and I’m 50 now for heaven’s sake!
I found a fabulous quote from — okay, I don’t remember the blogger’s name now – but he came up with a question that solved my hesitation to getting rid of things “DOES THIS REPRESENT THE PAST OR THE FUTURE?”
After that, I ended up giving away to the french and english libraries, a cupboard full of brand new books that had been piling up for over a year. It hurt initially because I am a bookworm but when I looked at them, all I saw was how heavy they were.
Besides that, I emptied most of my closets and shoe boxes and gave away one too many winter coats and scarves.
My reasoning was that “I’m making space in my life for something new”.
Cheers
Catherine´s last blog ..96 Life Lessons Learned in 2009 from My Private Hell of Nothingness
The hump in the road I cant seem to hurdle clothes – T-shirts I wore in college + I run a lot so I get new ones at every race. That and running shoes I decomission after every 300 miles they are fine for walking not running.
Sherri, u are a kindred spirit. I can relate to all those, esp the last one. I almost impossibly cannot throw out mag/newspaper articles I’ve torn out, just in case, for a rainy day, for my treasure map, some other thing.
I adore vases but would never throw them out as there is ALWAYS a need for one as I adore flowers and that’s that!
And my first toy, well he’s part of the family and would never go!
Thanks for a gr8 post!
Lise :^)
Oh, I am so BUSTED on the magazine article thing! I also have a very hard time getting rid of books.
Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..Stop Apologizing and Start Rocking Your Self-Esteem!
Books for me too. Also, old letters, journals, anecdotal notes & papers, jewellery that I never wear….
Mummy Zen´s last blog ..10 Simple Joys of Christmas
I just can’t get rid of negative relatives and of some of their memories …
I cling to a true japanese kimono I was given when I was 2-year old, a few baby clothes my daughters worn thirty years ago and lots of embroidery books
great topic! I also hold onto books. Have a hard time giving those up. I hold on to pictures (physical and digital–not just the memorable ones, but all the terrible shots, too. I have such a hard time parting with any picture–so odd. I feel like if I throw it out, that I am losing a memory. Thirdly, I have a hard time parting with the art my kid’s create. I have improved greatly to thinning these out over the years, but it still pulls on my heart strings when I toss these items (or give them away regarding the books).
Thanks for making me own this by sharing!
Lisa
I have to agree with many posters about books…if I must I donate or do paperbackswap.com Next is an embroidered chambray shirt from college,back in the dark ages. The fabric is so fragile, it will rip if I sneeze but it must stay. Last is yarn….it is taking over. I weeded down to 4 bins in January 09 and now they’re exploding!
Wow Thank you for sharing all of the things you choose to hang on to. You certainly do have a few things that are near and dear to your hearts don’t ya? That’s great (really!)
@ bashtree – I feel your pain with the baby blanket things. I’ve had my two kids, both boys, so they couldn’t use what was made for me anyway but I STILL have them. Blankets and bunting bags they’re really nice and yes incredibly tough to get rid of. I still have mine too.
@ Catherine – That’s a fabulous quote thank you for sharing it! I’ll try using it next time I’m REALLY struggling over whether to get rid of something or not.
@ Lisa – PICTURES! Of course! I am just as bad by the sounds of it. I’m terrible at reducing the number of pictures I keep – yes even the obviously bad ones. Digital or printed it doesn’t matter I’m hopeless when it comes to pics.
@ Barbra – 4 bins of yarn that are exploding that’s a whole lot of yarn. I’ve had a look at your Etsy shop though and you are certainly putting it to good use
I hold on to old photos, postcards/greeting cards, every place (1st time) that Zenguy and I have visited, every craft my 4 year old has done, I can not seem to let go. Silly but important memories. Need to find a creative balance that will keep memories but let go of excess, any tips?
Zengirl´s last blog ..Gifts from heart during Holidays
Okay- this is my first post- the push worked for me as well. I too have a hard time getting rid of books. I also have a huge record collection from my high school days that I can’t part with. They take up so much space- I know it is the memory that is most important to me. I also hate to part with anything that I have not read yet- books, magazines, newspapers- they pile up until I just have to toss them. Thanks for the push!!
Books are my downfall as well. But the magazine articles, I’ve gotten a grip. I’ve been using Evernote, and scanning them in. Instant indexing and the ability to tag them like a blog post, as well as sort into notebooks.
Now I need to go back into my files and scan the older stuff.
Serene Journey,
I have you on my blog roll because I admire your work. I am a newbie blogger and have just started less than two months ago. I love being a newbie blogger. I’m in the learning stage. I admire how you were able to generate so many comments! I can generate just a couple but I’m working on it. Once I think I got 9!
What I hold on to?
1) My teddy bear my dad gave me when I was 7. I’m 45 now.
2) All my pictures.
3) My wedding dress and memories of that day.
I LOVE to throw away things and sometimes what I do is give myself a 10 thing challenge. I force myself to find 10 things to get rid of. Usually it’s clothes I can donate to charity. My husband has a saying I like and it is ‘every day one thing less’.
Have a great day!
Julie
Julie Angelos´s last blog ..8 days ’til Christmas. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
My recipes, no not cookbooks. I tear out and print out recipes! The box is overlowing and I don’t even like to cook. How silly is that. I guess I dram of becoming a good cook someday. The problem is I don’t want to take the time to do it because I don’t like it;)
Oh and I could let go of being to hard on myself and being to intense…is that the same thing?!?
I’m generally pretty ruthless when it comes to these things and don’t hold onto things. This did get me thinking though if I do have some things I don’t need that I still do hold onto. And yes …
Books – I have many books that I know I’ll never read again but somehow can’t let go of
Clothes – I have several things I will never wear again but they used to be favourites and are still hanging around.
Photos – this is a tough one. I’ve got a box with a whole stack of unsorted photos and I never even open the box. I’m expecting a day to come when I sort through them .. but that day will probably never arrive.
Ian | Quantum Learning´s last blog ..Surviving Christmas
There are a lot of things I hold onto but could do without if I get technical about it, but three items that have meaning to pretty much only me are: a tattered and torn bean bag whale that’s probably 40 years old, the partially broken chair I use every day that my Grandpa sat on when he did taxes for so many years, and a collection of Breyer horses that remind me of my childhood.
Jackie´s last blog ..Dealing with Detractors When Doing Things Differently
Sherri, this fits your comment about needing something a few weeks later. LOL!
http://clangnuts.blogspot.com/2007/10/clutter-fairy.html
I love you for making my life a little easier with “does this represent my past or my future”. I was searching this site for something that would help….you did it 100%……blessings to you all.
Thank you Angela you’ve made MY day
I’m glad you found something that was helpful to you. Have a great rest of the week!
Sherri