What to keep and what to toss?
This topic has many names:
Clean
Cull
Cut
De-clutter
De-gunk or degunk
De-junk or dejunk
Edit
Revise
Strip
Throw away, throw out
Toss
Some names:
Don Aslett
Harriet Schechter
Alan Lakein
Jeff Lippincott
Harold Taylor (ok, you never heard of him but his remark in one of his time management books that the only way to get your desk straight is to do it quickly without judging the value and future of each paper on it really helped me)
You can get a bigger house, file cabinet, trunk, attic, rented self storage, garage, etc. or you can trim the collection. True of clothes, photos, computer files, stamp collection, books, letters, receipts, etc., etc.
In an age of successful weight gain and material acquisition for many, this topic of how and when to get rid of things gets to be important. Normally, each item kept was kept for a reason, a hunch, a feeling. Normally, over time, that justification loses some, most or all of its value.
For each item, toss or keep? Don Aslett convinced me that if I throw out the lovely purple scarf my grandma made me, it doesn’t mean I didn’t love my grandma or that I don’t treasure and honor her memory. If you are over 50, the totally irrational thrill that comes from saving your garage from overwhelmingdom is better than sex. Ok, nearly, but longer lasting.
But what if you throw out that paper weight and then you miss it or need it? Believe me, you will find a way to deal with the situation. If you are really worried, make an inventory of what you are tossing and keep track of the number of miseries you get from not having. You will wind up tossing the list, too.
Bill
