In general, my two decluttering questions are sufficient. 

But last week, I came up with an additional question that I could use if I ever got stuck. 

If this item broke, would I replace it?

You can probably tell from the picture above what helped me come up with this idea. 

After putting some dishes away, I (shocker of all shockers) forgot to close the cabinet door.  So . . . there was absolutely nothing to stop the evidently-precariously-balanced pie plate from coming crashing down and shattering into (literally) a ba-jillion pieces. 

As I waited for my 7yo to bring me some shoes, I thought, “Hmmmm, I don’t think I’ll replace that.  I never used it.”

I’m not exactly a pie-making-fiend, so the other glass pie pan I own should be more than sufficient. 

Which means I should have purged it long ago. 

And here’s a free thought on parenting:  I do believe that God allows these things to happen to mommies for the purpose of making us more understanding when they happen to our kids.

 I’m linking this up at Raising Homemakers and Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.