Free Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life by Beth Jones Page B

something is worth keeping if you only use it once or twice a year.
     
    For example, should you save that obscure board game "just in case" someone wants to play it at Christmas? Only you can decide the answer, but these are things you'll want to think about.
     
    Is the hour of use you'll get from this item once a year worth storing it the rest of the year? Is the stress that your clutter causes you worth keeping something "just in case" you might have a guest who wants to use the item someday?
     
    There's nothing wrong with entertaining friends or family members, but remember that they come to visit to see you: not your stuff.

Declutter Tip #1: Ditch the items that you never use.
     
    We all have things that we don't use as much as we think that we should. Unfortunately, this tends to be a gateway for clutter. After all, if you plan to use that treadmill in the corner, you should keep it. If you think that you ought to utilize the picture frames you bought but never put up, you should keep it.
     
    Right?
     
    In the world of downsizing, keeping things "just in case" is destructive and dangerous. You'll never get rid of anything if you hold the mistaken belief that you might need it someday. You'll never be able to achieve a well-organized home if you're constantly afraid that you might want something someday.
     
    Chances are that if you have an item you haven't used in a few months or - dare I say it? - a few years, you probably don't really need it.
     
    Remember this: should you encounter a situation where you need an item, you can always borrow one from a friend or rent one for the day. (Local lending stores often rent out furniture and other items on a daily or weekly basis.)
     
    For me, I bought an aerobic stair step. I just bought the one step and when I first purchased it, I used the item on a regular basis. After my family moved, though, it sat in my garage for three years. I kept telling myself that I might want it someday or that I ought to keep it. A $25 item ended up taking up a lot of space and driving me nuts for years before I finally decided to part with it.
     
    Have I missed it? Not once.
     
    Have I purchased another one? Nope, but I easily could at Target or Wal-Mart.
     
    While getting rid of things can be difficult, remember this: items cost you money to store (especially if you have a storage unit) and money to move. Instead of stressing out about things that you intend to use someday, just let them go. Donate them, give them to your neighbors, or see if a local church has any use for the item. It will get some use and you'll be able to sleep easy knowing that you helped another person with your unwanted, unused item.

 
    Declutter Tip #2: Get rid of broken things.
     
    This should be common sense, but unfortunately, it's not.
     
    Similar to Declutter Tip #1, Tip #2 involves doing some getting rid of.
     
    I found myself following this tip fairly recently. I had a small teacup and saucer that my mother bought me when I was quite small. I still remember the estate sale we were at, how the house smelled, and how many fun little items there were.
     
    That's when I saw it: the teacup.
     
    I had always wanted a teacup of my very own and my mother, ever the thoughtful one, bought it for me.
     
    I cherished that teacup. When I went away to college, I brought it with me. When my husband's job took us overseas, I brought it. When we moved back to the mainland, I brought it.
     
    Everything was fine until my son wanted to use the teacup to get a glass of water.
     
    The teacup slipped from his hands before he knew what was happening and it shattered on the floor.
     
    I was left with a dilemma: do I save the teacup and try to superglue it back together or do I say goodbye to the item?
     
    For a week the teacup sat on my countertop as I contemplated my decision. I've never been very good at fixing things and the cup was so small that even if I managed to find all of the pieces - which I hadn't, mind