Minimalism & Guilt
This month we are focusing on minimalism. A question I get often is in regards to the guilt you might feel when you are minimizing your space and get rid of so many things. Items you spent money on and some may even still have the price tag on them.
I remember feeling this way when I did my biggest closet purge. There were shirts that had dust on the shoulders and the price tag still hanging on the arm that went into my donate pile. I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t sting a little.
When I did my deep purge of my kitchen I filled up my entire kitchen table with serving trays and dishes and small appliances. None of these were broken or really old. They were just not things I was using.
So what do we do about the guilt? You have spent all this money and now you are just going to give it away? Or even if you decide to sell the item, you are only selling it for a fraction of what you paid for it. Or what about that crystal tray your Great-Aunt Sally gave you for a wedding gift?
Ok. We will go back to Great-Aunt Sally. Let’s talk about the things we have already spent our own dollars on. Let’s walk through this. I paid $25 for this serving platter at Home Goods. I have owned it for 3 years and never used it. But because of the $25, I am going to keep it in my cabinet, taking up space. Still not being used. We can all see how the logic is wrong here.
I believe the only answer to this question is that rather than feeling guilt about what happened in the past, we can learn from this. Next time I am in Home Goods and see a platter on sale, rather than immediately drop it in my cart and head to the checkout lane, I will take a few moments to think about it. Do I really need this? Am I replacing a platter I already have? Or is this just something that will take up space?
When I looked at the pile of clothing that was leaving my closet several years ago, it was really eye opening to me. I used to feel that I was being a good steward of my money by going through the row at TJMaxx and only searching for the red clearance tag. Now I do things a bit differently. I look for pieces that I really like. THEN I check the price. If it’s on clearance, great! If not, am I willing to pay full price? What if we ask ourselves this question before buying a clothing item. Would I be willing to pay full price for this? If the answer is no, we probably need to rethink the purchase. Are you going to like the sweater that doesn’t fit you that well more because it was only $15?
What about the thing your Great-Aunt Sally gave you as a wedding present? Gifts are all about the thought. What if instead of letting it collect dust in the high up, hidden away cabinet above your ovens, instead you let someone else enjoy that platter?
If you are feeling guilty about the GOOD things you are donating or selling by minimizing your home, let me tell you that you are not alone. This is a very common feeling. However, let’s learn from it. Don’t continue to penalize yourself by hanging on to the clutter. Let it go and make better decisions next time!
Minimizing my home has helped me find margin in my life for the good things!