What if you feel guilty throwing things away?
If throwing things away was easy, I would be out of a job!
In the age that we are living, it is easier than ever to accumulate "Stuff"!
Never before in history has it been this easy for stuff to enter our homes - The result is that we are all living with an immense burden of too much clutter in our homes. Despite knowing that we own too much stuff, and that its often causing major stress and anxiety in our lives, we still find it hard to let our clutter go!
Why do I feel guilty throwing things away?
Let's think about why you feel guilty about getting rid of things.
Is it because you have spent money on it and you want to get your money’s worth?
Perhaps you’re worried if you throw it away you might need to buy a replacement.
Maybe it's that you think it “might be useful in the future.”
You hate the idea of waste or maybe it was a gift, and it feels rude to throw it away. For some people, its an environmental issue. We hate the thought of things going in to landfill and want to find a new home for things, making it just more complicated to get things out of our home!
You might have felt some or all of these emotions over different items in your home and that’s OK. There’s no judgment from me! I don’t believe people should feel embarrassed or ashamed of their thoughts or past choices but if you're ready to change something, then I’m here to support you.
Lets be realistic. Those "useful" items you're holding onto, are they adding value to your daily life? Have you touched any of them in the last 3 months?
Take your carrier bag stash as an example, when did you last need a spare bag? We all need a carrier bag sometimes and you have probably used a few in the last 3 months, but are they growing in numbers quicker than you use them? If they are taking over your utility room, or spilling out of your drawer like molten lava, you could probably manage with less!
A whole draw or cupboard full of spare carrier bags is a huge waste of a useful space! Imagine how much better you would feel if items living on worktops could be tidied away in that space giving you clear worktops instead.
With truly useful items like this, it’s helpful to set a limit on how many you keep.
This could be a space limit or a number of items. Then maintain it with a 1 out 1 in mindset.
If you have an excess that you want to get rid of but you want to avoid the environmental impact of putting things in landfill, look at recycling or donation options.
If your guilt is based on the fact that you spent money on an item and to throw it away feels wasteful. Remember keeping it but not using it won't get you value for money.
If it’s served its purpose let it go. Could you donate it to help someone else? Does it have a secondhand value if you sold it? That might ease your feelings, platforms like Vinted can help with this. A cluttered home can actually cost you money due to accidentily purchasing multiples because you forget you have one or can’t find it.
Guilt over gifted items is slightly different. You understandably want to avoid upsetting the person who gifted it One way to do this is record who gave you items in a notebook when you receive them especially if its something you’re not overly fond of. Then if you choose to regift it you can do it tactfully without causing upset. The other way to to deal with unwanted gifts is to donate them to a charity shop so it’s helping others anonymously.
Remember just because something was useful once doesn’t mean you cant change your mind. If this has helped you reframe your feelings around getting rid of items why not join my free Facebook group Busy mums decluttering club for more tips and encouragement.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
