Now that you have become a faithful sentinel, guarding your homestead against an invasion by anything you will not use, you can turn your attention to the unused objects trespassing in your home.
Necessary?
Even if unused items do not obstruct the use of your house, they still create an unavoidable mental preoccupation. What is your reaction when you open the garage door and see the moving boxes you have not opened after five years, or when you open the cabinet and see the juicing machine you used once three years ago?
If not for yourself, how about for others? Drawing on my mother’s ancestral blend of maternal Catholic and Jewish guilt, how can you let usable but unused household items languish in your home when there are people who need and will use them?
Continuing last week’s example of eating everything on your plate, your parents also told you it was because there are starving children in Africa. As a smart-mouthed kid, you may have told your parents to give it to them. Well, your words have come home to roost, and now it is your turn to give it to them.
Why Not?
Since transferring unused possessions to someone who will put them to use makes perfect sense, why don’t we?
One reason is inertia. If they do not itch us, we do not scratch them. If we thought more about the potential benefit to others, it would itch. Once you have a few experiences like the ones I had with people who appreciated receiving my items (last year’s post), you will want to scratch.
Another reason is a mistaken belief that we use the item. Are you willing to put it to the test? Select one drawer or cabinet in your kitchen, remove its contents, and return them after you use them. In your closet, reverse the direction of the hangers (with the hook opening facing forward instead of backward). When you wear the garment, hang it back in the usual direction.
One year later, you may discover that you have a couple of favorite knives you use for everything, while the rest of the 14-piece gourmet chef’s knife set are no less sharp. Or, from your collection of hip-hugger, low-rise, mom, bleached, ripped, skinny, boot-cut, fat, straight-leg, cargo, jeggings, baggy, and flared jeans, you only wore four.
Finally, are you worried that, even though it’s proven unused, you may “need” it in the future? There may be a day when you could use them, but it is unlikely you will, or that you will regret not having them.
Last year, I mentioned our unused corn skewers. Last Saturday night, they remained safely ensconced in the drawer while our dinner guests used one hand to clutch their pearls and the other to hold their corn cob.
We spent a month at a well-appointed rental home in Florida with less than 1/3 of the stuff in our home kitchen. Despite the deficiency, our friend, an award-winning chef accustomed to a fully equipped kitchen with every conceivable gadget, cooked a delicious meal with the meager number of tools at his disposal.
You improvise and make do, and the absence of an item will not diminish your enjoyment.
Caveat
Please note that “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is not always true. I once accompanied someone who donated a computer better suited for an antiquity museum than for an office, and the lady at the counter told him, “This is the Salvation Army, not the Sanitation Army!” Our corn cob skewers are headed for the landfill. I would not dare perpetuate the insanity by donating them to clutter someone else’s home.
_______________________________________
Overcome disposition’s obstacles by considering what you receive and bestow rather than what you give up.
_______________________________________
