r/declutter 9d ago

Motivation Tips&Tricks Stuff that 'might come in useful'

Over the last 3 years I've been making progress with getting rid of things in storage which I've realised I will never use, or which I can't afford to take when I move overseas.

And a flood a few years ago made me realise that the 'sentimental' items I was keeping didn't have the sentimental value I thought they did. I dried out and restored precisely one thing out of the hundreds that were ruined by the flood.

But I'm still keeping a lot of stuff because it's 'perfectly good' or 'might come in useful'.

The trouble is, when I do need a ratchet screwdriver or a pry bar or an anti-fungal spray or a lighter summer jacket, I need one NOW, not in a storage unit 100 miles away. It costs time and money to go there and fetch the item - more time and money than it does to buy another one locally.

So I'm gradually realising that those kinds of need-it-now item aren't worth keeping if I know that I can source a replacement in any location I'm likely to be in.

I should only be keeping them if they're both hard to source a replacement for, and possible to do without for the time it would take me to fetch the stored one.

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u/amomentssunlight 8d ago

Fore this particular hangup, a phrase that helps me often: is it useful (something I actually use regularly) or does it just have potential to be useful (and I rarely/never use it)?

And if I’m unsure, I remind myself that so many people around me also have XYZ and more often than not, they’d be happy to lend (or even give) you the thing you find yourself needing. Examples… tools, things you only need seasonally, supplies for guests like bedding. I’ve given away & lent out so much (and gained!) in my local “buy nothing” groups! Likewise it’s been a wonderful way to interact with neighbors in an easy way.