Decluttering: Why you should give yourself an ultimatum

3/24/2019

Struggling with decluttering? It might be time to give yourself an ultimatum to either use it or get rid of it.

Woman with red nail polish carrying three big knitted sweaters

I have been decluttering a lot this winter, and decided to give myself an ultimatum with certain things; use it, or let it go.

For example, I have a dehydrator that my ex-husband got me the first time I visited him in the States. I experimented with abandon the weeks before I had to return to Europe, but since then I've only used it a handful of times to dry apple slices.

So in January when I was looking through the cupboards for items that might not be necessary to keep anymore, I saw it and told myself that if I can prove that I use it regularly, I can keep it. Otherwise it's taking up way too much space in the kitchen and it's not like I paid for it in the first place.

And you know what? When I was threatened with the reality that I would have to get rid of it if I didn't, I actually started using it. Otherwise it's so easy to just keep thinking "I'll use it soon" and be safe in the knowledge that it's nestling happily in it's storing space.

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White bed with laptop, photos, and rabbit with text overlay - Decluttering, why you should give yourself an ultimatum

Accepting the challenge

So I got a round beef roast at Walmart for $12, marinaded it overnight (this is an awesome easy recipe!), and after four hours in the dehydrator we had a whole bag of homemade dried jerky to snack on.

I weighed it and compared it with the store-bought bags we usually get at Walmart; we get twice the amount for the price! Plus I know all of the ingredients!

So now I do a batch every two-three weeks, however fast we go through it.

Another thing we haven't really used is a fire pit my boyfriend's parents gave us last summer. It was either too hot or too cold or too rainy whenever I thought about using it, which wasn't that often to be honest. But this evening it was lovely outside (65 degrees at 7 pm in March? I guess that's okay ;) ), so I brought my book and a cup of tea and busied myself building a fire using the dead branches we had cut off earlier this afternoon.

Now I'm feeling so at peace after an hour of reading by the fire with the dog puttering about the garden. Self-care at its finest.

It's usually so easy to do these things; a little bit of effort, and you reap the benefits.

Closeup of a fire pit with lit fire and trees in the background

Photo by Roya Ann Miller

Be honest with yourself

Something I got rid of a while ago was my essential oil diffuser.

I loved how it looked on my bedside table and how relaxing it was to sink off to sleep with the scent of lavender surrounding me, but that particular design made it smell like mildew if I didn't clean it out every single day.

I really tried to keep it up, but it just went longer and longer between each use because I didn't want to deal with the hassle. So finally I accepted that it just wasn't working for me and only took up space. So I sold it on Facebook Marketplace, actually for the same price I bought it for!

Sometimes you have to be honest with yourself and see if a thing actually is for you, or just for the picture you have of yourself.

Challenge: Find an item that you haven't used in ages, and give yourself a month to prove that you're using it.

If you do; great! Enjoy it!

If you don't; no worries! Now you know that it doesn't actually fit into your lifestyle, maybe just the vision you had of yourself. Give it away, sell it, or donate it.