I shared a lengthy and somewhat philosophical idea for a keepable resolution yesterday. Today, I’m keeping it short and sweet.
Get rid of stuff you hate.
I know. Nice people aren’t supposed to use that word. We’re supposed to love everyone and everything. That applies to people, for sure, but as a slob I tend to take this sentiment too far and apply it to things as well.
I’m the one who sees beauty and value where others see trash.
Sometimes, out of guilt, I try to soften and ease away my initial reaction to things I truly don’t like.
It’s okay to get rid of stuff I don’t like. Stuff that gets on my nerves. Stuff that makes me mad when I move it for the 32nd time.
Do I hate that bench that sticks out too far and causes bruises on my thigh every few weeks? Put it on the curb with a sign that says “FREE!”
Does that shirt make me mad every time I put it on and then remember it falls at the worst possible place on my hips? Stick it in the Donate Box.
Does it irritate me that every time I pull my favorite skillet out of the cabinet, the saucepan with the broken handle falls on my toe? Get rid of the saucepan I never use anyway!
I’m talking about a mindset change.
Don’t keep things you don’t like.
Give yourself permission to act on your gut instinct.
If something gets on your nerves, pay attention to and accept the physical sensation that tells you you don’t like it.
Donate it, recycle it, or just throw it in the trash. Do whatever needs to be done.
Go with your gut reaction. If you don’t like it and don’t want it, don’t keep it.
This is what Normal People do. I don’t think I’ll ever be normal, but I’m working on making this philosophy/life-coping-strategy my own.
--Nony
Yes! I received several kitchen items for Christmas. That’s great, but my kitchen is tiny. It can’t contain any more stuff. Thanks for permission to get rid of that iron skillet with the weird film on it and the dip tray that my friend bought me at a garage sale and the smoothie maker that I don’t use and…..and…..and…..
Sadly, most of the stuff I hate either came with or came from DH whose tastes are quite different from mine. Slowly, some of that is going and some is being relegated to out of my sight places.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and it had already opened up my mind to this idea. What helps me is to have the mindset that I am donating these things so they can go to a home where someone uses, appreciates, and maybe even loves them. I’ve been hesitating on a brown quilted jacket because, although I rarely wear brown, I don’t have a black midweight dressy jacket. But I think I could layer a black jacket and sweater and get the same warmth. Away goes the brown jacket, and now someone will actually get some use out of it!
I’m a new reader to your blog. Your e-book “Giving God the Worst of Me” drew me in.
This post encouraged me to toss *9* turtleneck tee shirts into the donate box–one brand new! I just can’t stand it when they come untucked under my sweater. I don’t wear them because they make me nuts all. the. time.
I did myself a favor, though. I measured the length (that was too short) and figured out that I could probably get just 2 men’s long shirts to replace the 9 that I got rid of. If I get men’s, it’s likely I can get them in a “tall”.
Now I have a desperately needed empty drawer in my dresser.
Thanks Dana!
Respectfully,
Sally
This is a great resolution! (Goal, philosophy, what have you….) What I have found is as I get rid of stuff I hate the pickier I become about what I bring into the house in the first place. This has especially been true with clothes. Last year I lost 30 lbs and had to replace my entire wardrobe. That’s not cheap even if you spread it out over months and months. Not a sympathetic problem, I know, but it really changed the way I shop. And my concept of how many clothes I truly “need”.
A few years ago Money Saving Mom ran an article about Financial Sink Holes. It really struck a chord with me and helped me evaluate the kinds of things I kept repeatedly buying but not using. An excellent way to think about new purchases and prevent clutter!
http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/09/identify-your-financial-sinkhole.html
A mindset change?
That means when I’m talking to myself… I need to listen to my own response to self! (That moment when my mind is changed)
… Great idea!!!
Wait, you mean I can get rid of the double-sided single pancake pan that my hubby got me last Christmas that I haven’t used once! ?We are a family of four, when would I ever make a single pancake??? Donating!
I didn’t know you could get a single pancake pan. I almost always eat 4-5 myself so I love my electric griddle for making big batches.
Preach it, sister!!
Yes Yes Yes, and Amen!
Your keepable resolutions are great!
I love how you get to the heart of what works for you and how you then express that in a manner that “clicks” for the rest of us, too. Very inspiring!
Looking forward to following your journey in 2015.
Very good resolution – need to take a trip around the house and find some stuff that I hate. I know it’s there.
My mother passed away this past summer after a long illness. One of the first things I did in her house (even before the funeral!) was to get rid of all the things that reminded me of the illness. If I looked at it and it brought back a bad memory, it went out of the house immediately. No saving for a sale, no concern about what it was “worth.” Most of this stuff was taken away by some friends who found places to donate it. Now, as I’m going through the rest of the stuff, I continue to immediately discard anything that reminds me of the dark days. It has been a relief and a healing for me.
I was thinking through this myself today, as I stood looking at my collection of Christmas cups that will soon be stored away. There’s one in particular that makes me cringe everytime we pull it out. Time to send it off to a new home, right? I’ll tell my children “Nony says so!”
I learned this lesson back when I was having a baby a year (eight babies in nine years!). I would pull out the new baby stuff and realize I always hated that shirt because the neck was too tight, or some other flaw…then one day I realized that while it made sense to keep our baby clothes for each new baby, it did NOT make sense to keep baby clothes I hated for the next baby! That one realization alone has cut down on clutter in our home.
This is my second reply to this topic.
Oh, the FREEDOM my husband and I feel after getting rid of the tread mill that had succumbed to electrical problems! After many repair attempts, this piece of equipment still frustrated both of us. It’s gone now. It wasn’t easy to set aside our feelings of how much we’d paid for it and the potential for fitness it was supposed to provide.
We are enjoying the huge amount of space freed up by the removal of it.
I just love “Grace Based” decluttering!
Kind regards,
Sally
This makes me think of a skirt I had. It fit me and was made of good fabric, it but every time I put it on, I would think, “this skirt is ugly!” I wore it for several years before I finally got rid of it. Why do we do that?
Okay, i your response made me realize that i need to get off fb and go through my skirts. I’ve been meaning to got a while. Some are cute, but don’t fit right. Some i have because they remind me of my mom. But i never wear them! I need to get busy. So much decluttering to do! And permission granted to throw out the ugly ones and things i don’t like!
My philosophy “use it or lose it” 😊
Pen caps. Why? I can’t stand them. Rarely are they actually on a pen. Out they go.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
T h a n k y o u !!!!
Among my mom’s things are two ceramic items she painted in the ’70’s. I’ve kept many from her projects but there are two that I. do. not. want. to. keep. !!! But, I do NOT NOT NOT want to see it go to a thrift store, either! I am going to take a photo and send it to my sister who is on facebook with a lot of our cousins and aunts and see if any of them want these- everyone LOVED my mom, so they just might want to salvage something before it heads to Goodwill.
But thank you! I am one step closer to emotional freedom over these items. You ‘get me’, right?
Thank you for this. I’m just now coming to the same realization, especially with kids’ clothing (hand-me-downs). Since I have several young children, boys and girls, I have kept nearly everything even though I wasn’t keen on it because one of them might like or need it. But they already have so much! Went (thrift) shopping with my eldest daughter and discovered some things about what fit her taste. Happily she is more decisive than I, and has no qualms tossing those disagreeable items to wear and enjoy the newer ones. I’ve learned from her and my other children to use what you enjoy, and enjoy what you use!