Clutter Control, Too Tiny Toss It

Clutter Control, Too Tiny, Toss It

This year I am taking on the clutter in my house. I want to by the end of this year have every area of my home clutter free. To make progress in this goal, last month I participated in Money Saving Mom’s Clutter Busting Challenge and I learned a lot about my tendencies for clutter. So this month I am sharing some of that wisdom I gained about myself in hopes that it can help take control of your clutter too.

Today I am talking about keeping those little bits of stuff you think you are going to use “someday” in the future. I know I am one of those people who do this very thing. I think I might need this tiny little bit of fabric for a new project so I better not toss it. So I store the tiny fabric pieces in a bag and add to them as I need to with more tiny pieces of fabric. Probably for that crazy quilt I will “someday” make. (crazy quilt is right, I would have to be crazy to think I am every going to sew all those little pieces of fabric into a big quilt

 Here’s just a sample of small pieces of fabric removed from my home this past month. These tiny pieces of fabric where in my daughter’s craft bag in here closet. But I too had some of my own.

I have a mindset that makes it hard for me to let things go. I don’t want to be wasteful. I want to use things to their fullest and get the most use out of them that I can. But I tend to keep items that are just too small to be useful at all. Then they build up in my house cluttering my closets and drawers.

If you are like me and try to get the most out of the items you have, here’s a couple of questions to ask yourself before you store a tiny little something away for “someday”.

• Is this item really big enough to be used again or in a project? or is it just too little to be used? 
• Will I ever do the project I am keeping this item for? (really be truthful with yourself here)
• Do I have a space to reasonably store these tiny items until I need them? or will they just add to my clutter?

If it’s just too tiny, then just toss the item into the trash and let it go.

I know going through my closets and items in my home, I was shocked by what I was hanging onto. I was hanging onto many pieces of fabric, yarn, almost empty containers of paint, glue and other items, that just wouldn’t be enough to work with on any project at all. Those containers and scraps were taking up useable space and cluttering up my life with items I just didn’t need. So out they went and I haven’t missed them or needed them at all.

So the next time you have an item you think, I can use this “someday” think about what it will cost you in clutter. Then weigh out the cost to the benefit before you stuff it away into a closet for “someday”

What is your biggest “someday item” you store away but never seem to do anything with?

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