Do I Keep it or Toss it?

Do I keep it or toss it? Why I won’t tell you.

This question “do I keep it or toss it?” is one that this organising coach won’t answer for you. Maybe this is good news to some of you because you now know I won’t ask you to throw anything out unless you want to.

But why I won’t tell you is what I see to be the answer to how you’ll stay uncluttered for good! It’s how you’ll live with less and experience more for the rest of your life.

The second reason why I won’t tell you, comes from the relationship you have with your STUFF. You’ve probably realised this relationship exists with some things you own, just recently I experienced of exactly how this affects me personally which inspired me to share these insights with you, more on this later.

AND yes I have STUFF too, I don’t believe we can live in a totally STUFF free home. STUFF is only a problem when it’s not adding value to your life or negatively affecting you, your relationships, your finances, time and energy. This is when we have to ask ourselves do I keep it or toss it?

So here’s’ why I won’t tell you –

It can be easy to identify some of the items around the home or office that need to be tossed in a decluttering session. But no matter if it’s a professional organiser like me or a good friend or family member helping you,  they will never know the answer to “Do I keep it or toss it?” because you are the only one who knows important elements about the item in question, they are:

• what your reasons are behind why you’ve kept the item,
• where or who it came from,
• what significance it holds for you,
• what memories the item recalls for you
• or the emotional value you have for the item.

What I learnt from keeping my childhood colouring in pencils.

Like many I practice mindfulness in my day to bring clarity and calm to a busy lifestyle. Seeing the new wave of adult colouring books I decided that it would be another great tool to add to my mindful practices. I started with some pens I had in the office but wanting more options I pulled out my old school pencils that I have held on to for over 35years.

Then something happened as I started to colour in,  I felt the child like excitement of when I first got this pack of pencils. I remembered going in to the news agent at my local shops with excited anticipation, I even remember the smell of newly printed paper filling the store, I recall that feeling of  this is it “today I finally get my own 24 pack of Steadler Pencils”. I loved stationery as a child and nothing has changed.

Many may have tossed their primary school pencils years ago but for me they held fond memories and emotions I love to revisit from childhood. So it might seem odd that an Organising Coach is telling you to keep things in your life but there are good reasons to keep cherished memorabilia in your life to old age. Researchers in late-life reminiscence have shown that cherished objects were cherished for reasons other than their value as inducers of reminiscence and as specific reconstructive symbols of memory. They also found a significant positive relationship between memorabilia and uplifted mood, and the total lack of a cherished object was associated with significantly lower mood.  (Sherman, 1991).

So next time you’re thinking about asking someone else do I keep it or toss it? Ask yourself “what uplifting memories does this object hold for me?” and are they significant enough to say, yes I will keep it.

My purpose and mission is to help you find the way to live with less and experience more. Join the workshop program live online or in Perth to unlock your clutter, simplify and organise your life once and for all.

In Peace and gratitude,

Carolyn

o416 127 004

Carolyn@outsidetheboxsolutions.com.au