There it was. Staring at me from across the attic. Begging me to...
to what?? What could I possibly do with a Latch Hook Kitty rug from Jr. High School? Frame it? Re-purpose it? Convince one of my children that it would make a great accent piece next to their favorite teddy bear? No, no and no. Even my children are smart enough to know that a yarned cat with dingy white edging has no practical use. So with one final embrace, I did the unthinkable and sent Latch Hook Kitty to her final resting place in the donation box. Goodbye dear friend.
What makes us hang onto our clutter? We all have our own unique and endless reasons for collecting clutter.
"I made that cat with my own hands and it took a lot of time and yarn."
"It is a keepsake from my childhood 25 years ago."
"My children might want this someday."
Each of us have stuff from our past that fit into the sentimental category. But what about you, Mr. Business Man? What about the plaque that honors you for serving as president of Smallville rotary club back in 1986? That has no more business taking up space on top of your filing cabinet than Latch Hook Kitty had in my attic. Don Aslett says in his book Clutter's Last Stand, "Hobbies and collections can not only be fun but also help us develop discipline and organization. Yet, too often as time passes, we've outgrown them but the skeleton remains to haunt us in the form of clutter. Enjoy that hobby or collection and use it, or lose it. Make sure it rewards you and others." The question is, what are we really hanging onto? Do the items that we keep bring value to our lives today?
to what?? What could I possibly do with a Latch Hook Kitty rug from Jr. High School? Frame it? Re-purpose it? Convince one of my children that it would make a great accent piece next to their favorite teddy bear? No, no and no. Even my children are smart enough to know that a yarned cat with dingy white edging has no practical use. So with one final embrace, I did the unthinkable and sent Latch Hook Kitty to her final resting place in the donation box. Goodbye dear friend.
What makes us hang onto our clutter? We all have our own unique and endless reasons for collecting clutter.
"I made that cat with my own hands and it took a lot of time and yarn."
"It is a keepsake from my childhood 25 years ago."
"My children might want this someday."
Each of us have stuff from our past that fit into the sentimental category. But what about you, Mr. Business Man? What about the plaque that honors you for serving as president of Smallville rotary club back in 1986? That has no more business taking up space on top of your filing cabinet than Latch Hook Kitty had in my attic. Don Aslett says in his book Clutter's Last Stand, "Hobbies and collections can not only be fun but also help us develop discipline and organization. Yet, too often as time passes, we've outgrown them but the skeleton remains to haunt us in the form of clutter. Enjoy that hobby or collection and use it, or lose it. Make sure it rewards you and others." The question is, what are we really hanging onto? Do the items that we keep bring value to our lives today?
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