Baby Bear is
six foot two and went off to college a year ago. Goldilocks moved out and is married with her own
family. So? What’s with the broken chair?

Are you
storing items in your home that have not been used in months? Years? Decades, perhaps?
Be honest. Is there stuff,
either sitting out in a room or stuffed into the basement, garage or attic that
you are holding onto that you know you should probably let go of? WHY?

Yes, let’s
start with asking “why?” What
stories are we telling ourselves to justify our hanging on to all this (dare I
say) junk? Let me list a few and
see which one strikes a chord with you:

- This
was an expensive little chair. A
little repair and someone could use it.

- Baby
Bear used to look so cute in this little chair and I just can’t part with the
memory.

- I’m
saving it because when Baby Bear has kids he might wonder where it is and want
to fix it up for them.

- Throwing
things away is why we have so many environmental problems.

Okay, let’s
get clear right now.

- Sure,
someone coulduse it. But no one will ever get to use it if it stays hidden for 30
years in your cellar. Fix it,
throw it out or use it for firewood but Please!
give yourself and your family a gift and get rid of it.

- And
yes, Baby Bear did look adorable when
he sat in that chair. So, do you
have a picture of that? Can you
tell a story about it? Do you really
need the broken chair as evidence of this memory? Do you bring it out at parties? Probably not.

- Baby
Bear fixing it for his kids?
Really? When was the last
time you watched Baby Bear fix anything?
When BB has kids, they’re not going to want their Dad’s old chair. If you wanted to teach Baby how to
repair chairs you missed your chance.
Try again when his kid breaks a chair. Until then, take him to a college football game and spend some
time with him.

- Are
you really trying to save the planet by turning your home into some kind of
catchall for all the stuff that would otherwise be crowding a landfill? Using your home as a storage unit for
broken or useless items is really serving no one.

So, where do
we start and what do we do? I
would bet that by now, if you’ve been following along, you already have that
certain something that you have been
holding onto in mind. So let’s
start there.

Think about
what you’re holding that takes up space that you could otherwise use for
something else and ask yourself three questions:

1. What’s
the worst thing that will happen if I get rid of it?

2. What’s
the best thing that will happen if I get rid of it? (i.e. What could I do with
that extra space?)

3. If
I went to look for it right now, would I be upset if it were gone? (i.e. Would I miss it?)

Now, once
you decide that your home would be fine (and possibly better) without this
item, what’s next? What do you do with it? Unless you are the Garage Sale or Ebay Guru of your
neighborhood, do yourself a favor and let it go. Save yourself time and stress and either throw the broken
item away or, if it’s not broken, bring it to a donation center such as Good
Will.

Finally,
once you’ve freed-up some space, vow to avoid the same trap by adopting a “Do
It Now” mentality. If it breaks –
fix it. If no one uses it anymore
– pass it on to someone who will.
Give yourself a deadline - “If it’s here in a month, it goes!” Let go of the stuff and decide to live
in your home today.

• To contact Annette
Reyman for organizing work or speaking engagements in the Greater Philadelphia
area call (908) 361-7105 or email her at annettereyman@gmail.com. She is a
member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and its
Philadelphia Chapter. View her Web site at www.allrightorganizing.com.