by Marie Vonow (follow)

Decluttering (10)      Moving house (2)     

I am a great believer in decluttering. I have read articles and books on the topic. I have watched videos and talked about the process with friends. And yes, I have written articles on the topic. Recently I moved house and was pleased to have decluttered. However, as I settle in to my 'new' home, I have become aware that I have parted with a few things which would be mighty useful right now. Oh well, that's life.

Some people seem to centre their life on decluttering and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle. It suits them. Other people need to have lots of mementos around them to make them feel secure or perhaps they love their ever growing collections of whatever is important to them. Some people aren't sure where they stand on the decluttering issue. Decluttering Is A Personal Decision

Advantages of decluttering
The reasons to declutter include -

Overall I feel decluttering is a useful and positive thing to do. I try not to hold onto things I no longer need. As well, I try not to buy things I really don't need. There are times I do buy an item on a whim and later wonder why I did. I don't want to be owned by stuff and I don't want to store things I didn't need in the first place or needed once but no longer need and which I don't foresee myself ever using again.

But you just might need it
However, there is no way to know for sure you won't ever need any of the things you are about to give to a friend, sell on Gumtree or donate to a good cause. It is possible you will have a degree of 'declutterer's regret' in the future.

A couple of years ago I donated a couple of plate racks I was not using. The house I have just moved to has less kitchen storage and I found myself wishing I had kept those plate racks. I was able to replace them for an outlay of $8 each so that was okay.

During my pre-move decluttering I gave away some large plastic flower pots. I was not using them as I had been concentrating on planting shrubs in the open garden rather than plants in containers. My new garden has several shady areas suited to a group of plants in pots. Should have kept those pots. Luckily my current house is across the road from a bargain shop which sells plastic garden pots of various shapes and sizes.

So, the 'con' of decluttering is the vague possibility you might need an item if you move house or your lifestyle changes. Perhaps you will take up mosaics and that broken crockery or tiles would have been useful. If you take up quilting, those scraps of fabric could be used, but you parted with them.

I have found the percentage of things I have parted with only to find I later need is pretty small. Therefore I will continue to declutter when necessary. It suits me better than holding onto everything 'just in case'.


# Decluttering
# Moving House

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