Just like finding the right eating method or exercise regimen, finding the right decluttering motto can be the key to keeping your home clutter-free. Many find an admonition by William Morris helpful when deciding what to keep and get rid of: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” But this popular decluttering criterion could actually become a pitfall if you’re not careful.
Things which we “believe to be beautiful” may not present too much of a problem. While beauty is subjective, of course, beautiful is a pretty strong word and should help weed out most decorative or sentimental items that an owner only feels so-so about. “Know to be useful,” on the other hand, can trip us up. Much of our clutter, in fact, is due to the notion that whatever it is, we’ll use it or even need it someday.
If we want to be strict about having a home full of only things we actually need in our lives right now, we need to let go of the mentality that something might be useful someday, or to somebody else, or any other number of “just in case” considerations.
Here are some things that could fit that clutter-enabling mold. If anything below strikes your conscience, consider this list permission to let it go without guilt.
Including an addendum to the “know to be useful” phrase can help you detect if you’re keeping to much. Think of it this way: “Do I know this to be useful in my actual life these days?”
What do you hang on to because it’s “useful”?
