So, here’s the scenario:

You are decluttering. You’re doing a stellar job.  Lots of things are ready to leave your house and you will have more clear space!

Uh oh, but then you come across that complete set of china (or antique bedframe or leather jacket) that you no longer have any use for.  You don’t love it. You don’t need it. You don’t really have room for it.  “But it’s so nice!  It cost so much!…”

“…It’s too good to give away!”

I’ve been there too.  Here are some questions to ask yourself to find the best solution.

• Which is more important to you: to recoup some of its value or to recoup the space that it has been occupying? Clear space has value too!

• Do you have the time and energy to sell it at a consignment shop or on Craigslist?  Doing that takes effort.  If you’re willing to put in the extra effort, go for it. Give yourself a deadline to have it dropped off/posted. Actually write the deadline on a post-it and tape it to the object.  If the deadline passes and it’s still lingering in (i.e. cluttering up) your home, then call the donation center and have them come back for it.

• Can you imagine someone else finding and enjoying the item?  Think of donating not just as a convenient way of getting rid of clutter.  Think of it as giving to those who need what you aren’t using.  As St. Basil wrote, “the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot.” Does picturing a real person using it and loving it help you let go of it?

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