Comments on: Tough calls and hard decisions

By: Maega

Maega — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:01:47 +0000

Thanks for this!!! I have been wondering what to do with some (very un-needed) items that I have emotional attachment to. This gives me “permission” to take my time parting with them.

By: Business Development | Social Media Literacy | » Productivity Recap- July 31st/09

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:55:25 +0000

[...] Erin of Unclutterer discusses how to decide what to keep and what to throw away in her post “Tough calls and hard decisions”. Discusses the process of sorting clutter into three sections, plus the extra forth, the tough call pile. http://unclutterer.com/2009/07.....decisions/ [...]

By: Sean S.

Sean S. — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:52:04 +0000

This is certainly practical advice, but it seems to betray the nature of the problem. The very fact that an item is a “tough call” necessarily means that it is difficult to throw away. Lack of space might nudge you towards discarding it, but the powerful emotional weight of keeping it will easily pull it back. How do we overcome this?

By: Julia1060

Julia1060 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:22:59 +0000

I love the idea of boxing, labeling and (advance) directing as well. As a teacher of theatre, I can (fortunately or not) see a use for nearly everything that comes through my work or home space. This method bypasses those sneaky triggers (visual) for holding on, keeping back or avoiding letting go. And, it represents a SMART goal – yay, Erin!

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:13:37 +0000

Boxing things up and forgetting them is the only way I can get my husband to part with anything. If it’s right in front of him, he swears it’s essential, no matter how many inches of dust it holds.

I do it with books, and then take the unopened box to the library.

By: Gladys

Gladys — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:39:24 +0000

The Touch Call pile is excellent advice! About 18 months ago, I began a major shift in my life which included major decluttering. Still, there were some things I was reluctant to let go of. About 6 months ago, as more shifting occurred, I found I could easily let go of it. This is encouraging to me, helping me to realize that just because I’m not ready to let go of something today doesn’t mean I’ll never be able to let go of it.

By: Jeanne B.

Jeanne B. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:08:58 +0000

Thank you. I needed permission to have a Tough Call pile. Now that I do, the sorting prospect doesn’t seem so final and scary.

By: Farrah

Farrah — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:56:56 +0000

Definitely agree with this. I’ve been living in summer housing (I’m in college) and didn’t see the point of unpacking most of my stuff. I just have a bunch of boxes around and only my essentials are out. Made me realize how much I don’t need all that stuff in all those boxes.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:17:20 +0000

I’ve used the bag it up, date it process several times when trying to pare down items in my clothes closet. Warning – this only works if you do NOT open the package before followng the instructions on the specified date. Open the package and all is lost.

By: Catherine Cantieri, Sorted

Catherine Cantieri, Sorted — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:09:47 +0000

This is such great advice, Erin. I think of the tough calls as being the one-handed push-up of organizing. There’s no shame in not being able to do it off the bat, and the more regular push-ups you do, the easier that one-handed sucker becomes.

By: Molly

Molly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:55:08 +0000

Ha! My family and I have “boxes of crap” exchanges, in which all the likely “tough calls” go to another’s house. They can get chucked/saved/donated as desired. No hard feelings. And HILARIOUS to go through!

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:28:45 +0000

Agreed. Another benefit of keeping certain things out of the ‘purge’ box is being able to sit and go through the ‘tough call’ box when you’re in a more contemplative/creative state of mind. When calmly going through one of my ‘maybe’ boxes, I was inspired to turn an old teacup into a ring holder for when I’m doing housework, and to turn an old doily crocheted by a relative into an embellishment for a cushion. In the midst of purging, it’s unlikely I would have thought, ‘I could keep that, and sew it to a cushion’.

By: Loren

Loren — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:23:55 +0000

The things in my ‘tough call’ usually gets given to people that I think will enjoy them. Box of comics and book that used to hold real sentimental value, but I have room for and hadn’t looked at for years, went to a good friend and his nephew.
I keep a small box in the closet next to the goodwill box of things that someone I know would probably like, if they don’t want or need it, it gets moved to the goodwill box.

By: Lori Paximadis

Lori Paximadis — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:15:16 +0000

Excellent advice. Having a safe holding place for those things you are truly conflicted about helps you keep up your momentum — you don’t have to stop progress on everything else to spend twenty minutes debating whether you should keep Grandma’s teacup because it’s the only thing of hers you have or move it along because the gold-gilt roses really don’t go with your midcentury modern decor.

Pick the low-hanging fruit first — get rid of the easy stuff. Purging is a process, not a one-time-only event.

By: becoming minimalist

becoming minimalist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:44:28 +0000

absolutely. great advice.

i’ve found that it is the “tough calls” that can really slow down, hamper, or frustrate the minimalizing process. giving yourself permission to hold onto the item for a set “trial period” allows you to move past the item in question onto other items and rooms.